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BY  JOSE   R.    CAPABLANCA 
A  PRIMER   OF    CHESS 


JOSE    R.    CAPABLANCA 


CHESS 
FUNDAMENTALS 


BY 

JOSE   R.  CAPABLANCA 

CHESS  CHAMPION  OF  THE  WORLD 


NEW  YORK 

HARCOURT,    BRACE   AND   COIMPANY 

LONDON:   G.  BELL  AND   SONS,   LTD. 


COPYRIGHT,  1921,  BY 
HARCOURT,  BRACE  AND  COMPANY,  INC. 

All  rights  reserved.    No  part  of  this  book  may  be  reproduced  in  any  form,  by 
mimeograph  or  any  other  means,  without  permission  in  writing  from  the  publisher. 


PRINTED   IN   THE   U.  S.   A. 


SRUF 


o<//S 


PREFACE 


Chess  Fundamentals  was  first  published  thirteen  years 
ago.  Since  then  there  have  appeared  at  different  times 
a  number  of  articles  dealing  with  the  so-called  H>per- 
modern  Theory.  Those  who  have  read  the  articles 
may  well  have  thought  that  something  new,  of  vital 
importance,  had  been  discovered.  The  fact  is  that  the 
Hypermodern  Theory  is  merely  the  application,  during 
the  opening  stages  generally,  of  the  same  old  principles 
through  the  medium  of  somewhat  new  tactics.  There 
has  been  no  change  in  the  fundamentals.  The  change 
has  been  only  a  change  of  form,  and  not  always  for  the 
best  at  that. 

In  chess  the  tactics  may  change  but  the  strategic 
fundamental  principles  are  always  the  same,  so  that 
Chess  Fmtdamentals  is  as  good  now  as  it  was  thirteen 
years  ago.  It  will  be  as  good  a  hundred  years  from  now; 
as  long  in  fact  as  the  laws  and  rules  of  the  game  remain 
what  they  are  at  present.  The  reader  may  therefore 
go  over  the  contents  of  the  book  with  the  assurance 
that  there  is  in  it  everything  he  needs,  and  that  there 
is  nothing  to  be  added  and  nothing  to  be  changed. 
Chess  Fundamentals  was  the  one  standard  work  of  its 
kind  thirteen  years  ago  and  the  author  firmly  beUeves 
that  it  is  the  one  standard  work  of  its  kind  now. 

J.    R.    CAPABLANCA 

New  York 
Sept.  I,  ig34 


LIST  OF  CONTENTS 
PART  I 

CHAPTER  I 
First  Principles:  Endings,  Middle-game  and  Openings 


PAGE 


1.  Some  Simple  Mates 3 

2.  Pa\\'N  Promotion g 

3.  Pawn  Endings 13 

4.  Some  Winning  Positions  in  the  Middle-game  ....  19 

5.  Relative  Value  of  the  Pieces 24 

6.  General  Strategy  of  the  Opemng 25 

7.  Control  of  the  Centre 28 

8.  Traps 32 

CHAPTER  II 

Further  Principles  in  End-game  Play 

9.  A  Cardinal  Principle 35 

10.  A  Classical  Ending 37 

11.  Obt.aining  a  Passed  Pawn 40 

12.  How  to  find   out   ^vincH  Pwvs  will  be  the  first 

TO  Queen 41 

13.  The  Opposition 43 

14.  The  Relati\^e  Value  of  Knight  and  Bishop    ....  50 

15.  How  TO  Mate  with  Knight  and  Bishop 59 

16.  Qlteen  against  Rook 62 

CHAPTER  III 
Planning  a  Win  in  Middle-game  Play 

17.  Attacking  without  the  aid  of  Knights 68 

18.  Attacking  vmth  Knights  as  a  Prominent  Force.    .    .  71 

19.  Winning  by  Indirect  Attack 73 


LIST   OF    CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 

General  Theory 

PAGE 

20.  The  Initiative 77 

21.  Direct  Attacks  en  masse 78 

22.  The  Force  of  the  Threatened  Attack 82 

23.  Relinquishing  the  Initiative 89 

24.  Cutting  off  Pieces  from  the  Scene  of  Action  ...  94 

25.  A  Player's  Motives  Criticised  in  a  Specimen  Game  .  99 

CHAPTER  V 

End-game  Strategy 

26.  The  Sudden  Attack  from  a  Different  Side iii 

27.  The  Danger  of  a  Safe  Position 120 

28.  Endings  with  one  Rook  and  Pawns 122 

29.  A  Difficult  Ending:  Two  Rooks  and  Pawns  ....  127 

30.  Rook,  Bishop  and  Pawns  v.  Rook,  Knight  and  Pawns  138 

(A  Final  Example  of  preserving  Freedom  whilst 
imposing  restraint.) 

CHAPTER  VI 

Further  Openings  and  Middle-games 

31.  Some  Salient  Points  about  Pawns 143 

32.  Some    Possible    Developments    from    a    Ruy    Lopez 

(showing  the  weakness  of  a  backward  Q  B   P;    the 
power  of  a  Pawn  at  K  5,  etc.) 146 

33.  The  Influence  of  a  "Hole" 150 


LIST   OF    CONTENTS 

PART   II 

ILLUSTIL\TIVE   GAMES 

GAME  PAGE 

1.  Queen's  Gambit  Declined  (Match,    1909) 15^ 

White:  F.  J.  Marshall.     Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

2.  Queen's  Gambit  Declined  (San  Sebastian,    1911).   ,     163 

White:  A.  K.  Rubinstein.     Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

3.  Irregular   Defence  (Havana,    1913 ) 169 

White:  D.  Janovvski.     Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

4.  French  Defence  (St.   Petersbltjg,    1913) 174 

White:  J.  R.  Capablan  a.  Black:  E.  A.  Snosko-Borovski. 

5.  RuY  Lopez   (St.   Petersbltig,    1914) 181 

White:  Dr.  E.  Lasker.     Black:  J.R.Capablanca. 

6.  French  Defence  (Rice  Memorlal  Tournament,  1916)     189 

White:  O.  Chajes.     Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

7.  Rin    Lopez  (San  Sebastian,  1911 ) 197 

White:  J.  R.  Capablanca.     Black:  A.  Burn. 

8.  Centre  Game  (Berlin,    1913 ) 201 

White:  J.  Mieses.     Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

9.  Queen's  Gambit  Declined  (Berlin,    1913) 209 

White:  J.  R.  Capablanca.     Black:  R.  Teichmann. 

10.  Petroff  Defence  (St.   Petersburg,    1914) 215 

White:  J.  R.  Capablanca.     Black:  F.  J.  Marshall. 

11.  RuY  Lopez  (St.   Petersburg,    1914) 221 

White:  J.  R.  Capablanca.     Black:  D.  Janowski. 

12.  French  Defence  (New  York,    1918) 225 

White:  J.  R.  Capablanca.     Black:  O.  Chajes. 

13.  RvY  Lopez  (New  York,  1918) 231 

White:  J.  S.  Morrison.     Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

14.  Queen's    Gambit  Declined  (New  York,  1918).   .   .   .     238 

White:  F.  J.  Marshall.    Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 


CHESS   FUNDAMENTALS 


CHESS   FUNDAMENTALS 

PART   I 

CIL\PTER   I 

First  PRiNcrPLEs:   Endings,  Meddle-Gaaie 
AND  Openings 

The  first  thing  a  student  should  do,  is  to  famiharise 
himself  with  the  power  of  the  pieces.  This  can 
best  be  done  by  learning  how  to  accompHsh  quickly 
some  of  the  simple  mates. 

1.     SOME  SIMPLE  IiIATES 

Example  1.  —  The  ending  Rook  and  King  against 
King. 

The  principle  is  to  drive  the  opposing  King  to  the 
last  line  on  any  side  of  the  hoard. 


4  SOME   SIMPLE   MATES 

In  this  position  the  power  of  the  Rook  is  demon- 
strated by  the  first  move,  R —  R  7,  which  immediately 
confines  the  Black  King  to  the  last  rank,  and  the 
mate  is  quickly  accomphshed  by:  iR — R  7, 
K— Kt  i;  2  K— Kt  2. 

The  combined  action  of  King  and  Rook  is 
needed  to  arrive  at  a  position  in  which  mate  can  be 
forced.  The  general  principle  for  a  beginner  to 
foUow  is  to 

keep  his  King  as  much  as  possible  on  the  same 
rank,  or,  as  in  this  case,  file,  as  the  opposing  King. 

When,  in  this  case,  the  King  has  been  brought  to 
the  sixth  rank,  it  is  better  to  place  it,  not  on  the  same 
fiile,  but  on  the  one  next  to  it  towards  the  centre. 

2...K— B  i;  3  K— B  3,  K— K  i;  4  K— K  4, 
K-Q  i;   5K-Q5,  K-B  i;   6K-Q6. 

Not  K — B  6,  because  then  the  Black  King  will 
go  back  to  Q  I  and  it  will  take  much  longer  to  mate. 
If  now  the  King  moves  back  to  Q  i,  R—  R  8  mates 
at  once. 

6...K-Kti;  7R-QB7,K-Ri;  8K-B6, 
K— Kti;   9K— Kt6,  K— Ri;   loR  — BSmate. 

It  has  taken  exactly  ten  moves  to  mate  from  the 
original  position.  On  move  5  Black  could  have  played 
K — K  I,  and,  according  to  principle,  White  would 
have  continued  6K— Q6,  K— Bi  (the  Black  King 
will  ultimately  be  forced  to  move  in  front  of  the  White 
King  and  be  mated  by  R— R8);  7K— K6, 
K— Kt  i;  8  K— B  6,  K  — R  i;  9  K— Kt  6, 
K— Kt  i;  10  R— R  8  mate. 


SOME  SIMPLE  MATES 


Example  2. 


Since  the  Black  King  is  in  the  centre  of  the  board, 
the  best  way  to  proceed  is  to  advance  your  own  King 
thus:  I  K— K  2,  K— Q  4;  2  K— K  3.  As  the 
Rook  has  not  yet  come  into  play,  it  is  better  to 
advance  the  King  straight  into  the  centre  of  the  board, 
not  in  front,  but  to  one  side  of  the  other  King.  Should 
now  the  Black  King  move  to  K  4,  the  Rook  drives 
it  back  by  R—  R  5  ch.  On  the  other  hand,  if  2. . . 
K— B  5  instead,  then  also  3  R  — R  5.  If  now  3. . . 
K— Kt  5,  there  follows  4  K— Q  3;  but  if  instead 
3 . . .  K  —  B  6 ;  then  4  R  —  R  4,  keeping  the  King 
confined  to  as  few  squares  as  possible. 

Now  the  ending  may  continue  :  4 . . .  K  —  B  7  ; 
5  R  — B  4  ch,  K— Kt  6;  6  K-Q  3,  K-Kt  7; 
7  R— Kt  4  ch,  K— R  6;  8  K  — B  3,  K— R  7.  It 
should  be  noticed  how  often  the  White  King  has  moved 
next  to  the  Rook,  not  only  to  defend  it,  but  also  to 
reduce   the   mobility   of   the   opposing   King.     Now 


6  SOME  SIMPLE  MATES 

White  mates  in  three  moves  thus:  9  R— R  4  ch, 
K — Kt  8;  10  R  —  any  square  on  the  Rook's  file, 
forcing  the  Black  King  in  front  of  the  White,  K  —  B  8 ; 
II  R  —  R  I  mate.  It  has  taken  eleven  moves  to  mate, 
and,  under  any  conditions,  I  believe  it  should  be  done 
in  under  twenty.  While  it  may  be  monotonous,  it 
is  worth  while  for  the  beginner  to  practice  such 
things,  as  it  will  teach  him  the  proper  handling  of 
his  pieces. 

Example  3.  —  Now  we  come  to  two  Bishops  and 
King  against  King. 


™^   W     W     '^^^ 


<^m       ^^       ^^m       ^^ 
^P       ^P       ^P       ^P 


Since  the  Black  King  is  in  the  corner.  White  can 
play  I  B  — Q3,  K— Kt  2;  2  B  — K  Kt  5,  K  — B  2  ; 
3  B  —  B  5,  and  already  the  Black  King  is  confined 
to  a  few  squares.  If  the  Black  King,  in  the  original 
position,  had  been  in  the  centre  of  the  board,  or  away 
from  the  last  row.  White  should  have  advanced  his 
King,  and  then,  with  the  aid  of  his  Bishops,  restricted 


SOME  SIMPLE  MATES  7 

the  Black  King's  movements  to  as  few  squares  as 
possible. 

We  might  now  continue  :  3...K  —  Kt2;4K  —  B  2. 
In  this  ending  the  Black  King  must  not  only  be  driven 
to  the  edge  of  the  board,  but  he  must  also  be  forced 
into  a  comer,  and,  before  a  mate  can  be  given,  the 
White  King  must  be  brought  to  the  sixth  rank  and, 
at  the  same  time,  in  one  of  the  last  two  files ;  in  this 
case  either  K  R  6,  K  Kt  6,  K  B  7,  K  B  8,  and  as  K  R  6 
and  K  Kt  6  are  the  nearest  squares,  it  is  to  either  of 
these  squares  that  the  King  ought  to  go.  4 .  .  .  K  — 
B  2;  5  K— Kt  3,  K— Kt  2;  6  K— R  4,  K  — B  2; 
7  K— R  5,  K— Kt  2;  8  B  — Kt  6,  K— Kt  i; 
9K  —  R6,  K  —  Bi,  WTiite  must  now  mark  time  and 
move  one  of  the  Bishops,  so  as  to  force  the  Black 
Kling  to  go  back ;  10  B  —  R5,  K  —  Kti;  iiB  —  K7, 
K — R  I.  Now  the  White  Bishop  must  take  up  a 
position  from  which  it  can  give  check  next  move 
along  the  White  diagonal,  when  the  Black  King 
moves  back  to  Kt  i.  12  B  —  K  Kt  4,  K — Kt  i ; 
13B  — K6  ch,   K— R   i;    14  B  — B   6  mate." 

It  has  taken  fourteen  moves  to  force  the  mate 
and,  in  any  position,  it  should  be  done  in  under 
thirty. 

In  all  endings  of  this  kind,  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  drift  into  a  stale  mate. 

In  this  particular  ending  one  should  remember  that 
the  King  must  not  only  be  driven  to  the  edge  of  the 
board,  but  also  into  a  corner.  In  all  such  endings, 
however,  it  is  immaterial  whether  the  King  is  forced 


8 


SOME  SIMPLE  MATES 


on  to  the  last  rank,  or  to  an  outside  file,  e.g.  K  R  5 
or  Q  R  4,  K  I  or  Q  8. 

Example  4.  —  We  now  come  to  Queen  and  King 
against  King.  As  the  Queen  combines  the  power  of 
the  Rook  and  the  Bishop,  it  is  the  easiest  mate  of  all 
and  should  always  be  accomplished  in  under  ten  moves. 
Take  the  following  position: 


^^      '^^      W^      ^^' 


m     #^ 


A  good  way  to  begin  is  to  make  the  first  move  with 
the  Queen,  trying  to  limit  the  Black  King's  mobility 
as  much  as  possible.  Thus:  i  Q — B  6,  K — Q  5; 
2  K— Q  2.  Already  the  Black  King  has  only  one 
available  square  2...K  —  K  4;  3  K  —  K  3,  K  —  B  4; 
4  Q  —  Q  6,  K  —  Kt  4.  (Should  Black  play  K  —  Kt  5, 
then  Q— Kt  6  ch) ;  5  Q— K  6,  K  — R  5  (if 
K  — R  4,  K  — B  4  and  mate  next  move); 
6Q-K  Kt  6,  K  — R  6;  7  K  — B  3,  K  moves; 
8  Q  mates. 

In  this  ending,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Rook,  the  Black 
King  must  be  forced  to  the  edge  of  the  board;   only 


PAWN  PROMOTION  9 

the  Queen  being  so  much  more  powerful  than  the 
Rook,  the  process  is  far  easier  and  shorter.  These 
are  the  three  elementary  endings  and  in  all  of  these 
the  principle  is  the  same.  In  each  case  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  King  is  needed.  In  order  to  force  a  mate 
without  the  aid  of  the  King,  at  least  two  Rooks  are 
required. 

2.   PAWN   PROMOTION 

The  gain  of  a  Pawm  is  the  smallest  material  advantage 
that  can  be  obtained  in  a  game ;  and  it  often  is  sufTicient 
to  win,  even  when  the  Pa-wn  is  the  only  remaining 
unit,  apart  from  the  Kings.  It  is  essential,  speaking 
generally,  that 

the  King  should  he  in  front  of  his  Pawn,  with  at  least 
one  intervening  square. 

If  the  opposing  King  is  directly  in  front  of  the  Pawn, 
then  the  game  cannot  be  won.  This  can  best  be  ex- 
plained by  the  following  examples. 


Example  6. 


« „.._  «„ 


lo  PAWN  PROMOTION 

The  position  is  drawn,  and  the  way  to  proceed  is 
for  Black  to  keep  the  King  always  directly  in  front 
of  the  Pawn,  and  when  it  cannot  be  done,  as  for  in- 
stance in  this  position  because  of  the  White  King, 
then  the  Black  King  must  be  kept  in  front  of  the 
White  King.  The  play  would  proceed  thus  :  i  P  —  K  3, 
K— K4;  2K— Q3,  K— Q4-  This  is  a  very 
important  move.  Any  other  move  would  lose,  as 
will  be  shown  later.  As  the  Black  King  cannot  be 
kept  close  up  to  the  Pawn,  it  must  be  brought  as  far 
forward  as  possible  and,  ?.t  the  same  time,  in  front 
of  the  WTiite  King. 

3  P  — K  4  ch,  K— K  4;  4  K— K  3,  K— K  3; 
5  K  — B  4,  K— B  3.  Again  the  same  case.  As  the 
White  King  comes  up,  the  Black  King  must  be  kept 
in  front  of  it,  since  it  cannot  be  brought  up  to  the 
Pawn. 

6  P— K  5  ch,  K— K  3;  7K— K4,  K-K2; 
8  K— Q  5,  K— Q  2;  9  P— K  6  ch,  K— K  2; 
loK— K  5,  K  — Ki;  II  K— Q6,  K— Q  I.  If  now 
White  advances  the  Pawn,  the  Black  King  gets  in 
front  of  it  and  White  must  either  give  up  the  Pawn 
or  play  K—  K  6,  and  a  stale  mate  results.  If  instead 
of  advancing  the  Pawn  White  withdraws  his  King, 
Black  brings  his  King  up  to  the  Pawn  and,  when 
forced  to  go  back,  he  moves  to  K  in  front  of  the  Pawn 
ready  to  come  up  again  or  to  move  in  front  of  the 
White  King,  as  before,  should  the  latter  advance. 

The  whole  mode  of  procedure  is  very  important 
and  the  student  should  become  thoroughly  conversant 


PAWN  PROMOTION 


II 


with  its  details ;  for  it  involves  principles  to  be  taken 
up  later  on,  and  because  many  a  beginner  has  lost 
identical  positions  from  lack  of  proper  knowledge.  At 
this  stage  of  the  book  I  cannot  lay  too  much  stress  on 
its  importance. 

Example  6.  —  In  this  position  WTiite  wins,  as  the 
King  is  in  front  of  his  Pawn  and  there  is  one  intervening 
square.  


^P  ^P  ^^- 


# 


MM      ^^       Wm      ^m 
I     wm.     wm     mm. 


m 


m 


fl      ^m      ^m      ^m 


The  method  to  follow  is  to 

advance  the  King  as  far  as  is  compatible  with  the  safety 

of  the  Pawn  and  never  to  advance  the  Pawn  until  it  is 

essential  to  its  own  safety. 

Thus : 

I.   K — K  4,  K — K  3. 

Black  does  not  allow  the  WTiite  King  to  advance, 
therefore  White  is  now  compelled  to  advance  his  Pawn 
so  as  to  force  Black  to  move  away.  He  is  then  able 
to  advance  his  own  King. 

2.   P-K3,K-B3;    3.   K-Q5,K-K2. 


12  PAWN  PROMOTION 

If  Black  had  played  3. .  .K— B  4,  then  White  would 
be  forced  to  advance  the  Pa^\^l  to  K  4,  since  he  could 
not  advance  his  King  without  leaving  Black  the 
opportunity  to  play  K— K  5,  winning  the  Pawn. 
Since  he  has  not  done  so,  it  is  better  for  White  not 
to  advance  the  Pawn  yet,  since  its  own  safety  does 
not  require  it,  but  to  try  to  bring  the  Kmg  still  fur- 
ther forward.     Thus: 

4.   K— K5,K-Q2;     5.   K-B6,K-Ki. 

Now  the  White  Pawn  is  too  far  back  and  it  may  be 
brought  up  within  protection  of  the  King. 
6.  P  — K4,K— Q2. 
Now  it  would  not  do  to  play  K  — B  7,  because 
Black  would  play  K— Q  3,  and  White  would  have 
to  bring  back  his  King  to  protect  the  Pawn.  There- 
fore he  must  continue. 

7.  P-K5,K-Ki. 
Had  he  moved  anywhere  else,  White  could  have  played 
K — B  7,  followed  by  the  advance  of  the  Pawn  to 
K  6,  K  7,  K  8 ;  all  these  squares  being  protected  by 
the  King.  As  Black  tries  to  prevent  that.  White  must 
now  force  him  to  move  away,  at  the  same  time  always 
keeping  the  King  in  front  of  the  Pawn.    Thus : 

8.   K— K6. 

P  —  K  6  would  make  it  a  draw,  as  Black  would  then 

play  K — B,  and  we  would  have  a  position  similar 

to  the  one  explained  in  connection  with  Example  5. 

8...K— B  i;  9K-Q  7. 


PAWN  ENDINGS 


13 


King  moves  and  the  White  Pawn  advances  to  K  8, 
becomes  a  Queen,  and  it  is  all  over. 

This  ending  is  like  the  previous  one,  and  for  the 
same  reasons  should  be  thoroughly  understood  before 
proceeding  any  further. 

3.   PAWN   ENDINGS 

I  shall  now  give  a  couple  of  simple  endings  of  two 
Pawns  against  one,  or  three  against  two,  that  the 
reader  may  see  how  they  can  be  won.  Fewer  explana- 
tions will  be  given,  as  it  is  up  to  the  student  to  work 
things  out  for  himself.  Furthermore,  nobody  can 
learn  how  to  play  well  merely  from  the  study  of  a 
book ;  it  can  only  serve  as  a  guide  and  the  rest  must 
be  done  by  the  teacher,  if  the  student  has  one;  if 
not,  the  student  must  realise  by  long  and  bitter  ex- 
perience the  practical  application  of  the  many  things 
explained  in  the  book. 


Example  7. 


14  PAWN  ENDINGS 

In   this    position    White    cannot    win     by    playing 

1  P  —  B  6,  because  Black  plays,  not  P  X  P,  which 
would  lose,  but  i . .  .K—  Kt  i,  and  if  then  2  P  X  P, 
K  X  P,  and  draws,  as  shown  in  a  previous  case.  If 
2P  — B  7  ch,  K  — B  I,  and  White  will  never  be 
able   to   Queen   his     Pawn    without     losing    it.     If 

2  K—  K  7,  PxP;  3  KxP,  K— Bi,  and  draws. 
WTiite,  however,  can  win  the  position  given  in  the 
diagram  by  playing: 

I  K-Q  7,  K-Kt  i;  2  K-K  7,  K-R  i; 
3P-B6,PXP.  If  3-K-Kt  i;  4  P-B  7ch, 
K— R  i;    5  P  — B  8  (Q)  mate. 

4  K— B  7,  P  — B  4;  5  P— Kt  7  ch,  K  — R  2; 
6  P-Kt  8  (Q)  ch,  K-R  3;    7  Q-Kt  6  mate. 


■     m' 


mm. 


Example  8.  —  In  the  above  position  White  can't  win 
by  I  P  —  B  5.  Black's  best  answer  would  be  P  —  Kt  3 
draws.  (The  student  should  work  this  out.)  He 
cannot  win  by  i  P  — Kt  5,  because  P  — Kt  3  draws. 
(This,  because  of  the  principle  of  the  "'opposition" 


PAWN  ENDINGS  15 

which  governs  this  ending  as  well  as  all  the  Pawn- 
endings  already  given,  and  which  will  be  explained 
more  fully  later  on.) 

White  can  win,  however,  by  playing :  i  K  —  K  4, 
K-K3.     (If  i...P-Kt  3;    2  K-Q4,  K-K3; 

3K-B5,  K-B3;4K-Q6,K-B2;5P-Kt5, 
K— Kt  2;  6  K— K  7,  K— Kt  i;  7  K— B  6, 
K— R2;    8K — B7  and  White  wins  the  Pawn.) 

2  P-B  5  ch,  K-B  3;  3  K-B  4,  P-Kt  3. 
(If  this  Pawn  is  kept  back  we  arrive  at  the  ending 
shown  in  Example  7.)  4  P— Kt  5  ch,  K— B  2; 
5P  — B6,  K— K3;6K— K4,  K  — B  2;7K— K5, 
K — B  I.  White  cannot  force  his  Bishop's  Pawn 
into  Q  (find  out  why),  but  by  giving  his  Pawn  up  he 
can  win  the  other  Pawn  and  the  game.     Thus : 

8P— B  7,  KxP;  9K— Q6,  K— B  i;  loK— K6, 
K— Kt  2;  II  K— K  7,  K— Kt  i;  12  K— B  6, 
K— R2;  13  K—  B  7,  K— R  i;  14  K  x  P, 
K— Kti. 

There  is  still  some  resistance  in  Black's  position. 
In  fact,  the  only  way  to  win  is  the  one  given  here, 
as  will  easily  be  seen  by  experiment. 

15  K— R  6  (if  K— B  6,  K— R  2;  and  in  order 
to  win  WTiite  must  get  back  to  the  actual  position, 
as  against  16  P—  Kt  6  ch,  K—  R  i  draws),  K—  R  i ; 
16  P— Kt  6,  K— Kt  i;  17  P— Kt  7,  K  — B  2; 
18  K— R  7,  and  White  queens  the  PawTi  and 
wins. 

This  ending,  apparently  so  simple,  should  show  the 
student  the  enormous  difficulties  to  be  surmounted, 


i6 


PAWN  ENDINGS 


even  when  there  are  hardly  any  pieces  left,  when 
playing  against  an  adversary  who  knows  how  to  use 
the  resources  at  his  disposal,  and  it  should  show  the 
student,  also,  the  necessity  of  paying  strict  attention 
to  these  elementary  things  which  form  the  basis  of 
true  mastership  in  Chess. 


Example  9.  —  In  this  ending 


^^  fs^,  ^^  ^^ 


wm.^    wm,^    ^ 


i    m.    m  ^  Mi 


tf^^^^^^^p^^^^ 


m ^_^ 


White  can  win  by  advancing  any  of  the  three  Pawns 
on  the  first  move,  but  it  is  convenient  to  follow  the 
general  rule,  whenever  there  is  no  good  reason  against 
it,  of  advancing  the  Pawn  thai  has  no  Pawn  opposing 
it.     Thus  we  begin  by  — 

I.  P-B  5,K-K2. 

If  P  —  Kt  3,  P  —  B  6;  and  we  have  a  similar  ending 
to  one  of  those  shown  above.  If  i . . .  P  —  R  3  ;  2 
P-Kt  5- 

2.  K-K5,K-B2;    3.  P- Kt  5,  K-K  2. 


PAWN  ENDINGS 


17 


If  3...P-Kt  3;    4  P-B  6,  and  if  3...P-R  3; 

4  P  —  Kt  6  ch,  and  in  either  case  we  have  a  similar 
ending  to  one  of  those  already  shown. 

4.   P-R5, 
and  by  following  it  up  with  P  —  Kt  6  we  have  the 
same  ending  previously  showTi.     Should  Black  play 
4...P— Kt  3,  then  R  P  X  P,  P  X  P ;    P  — B  6  ch 
with  the  same  result. 

Having  now  seen  the  cases  when  the  Pa\ATis  are 
all  on  one  side  of  the  board  we  shall  now  examine 
a  case  when  there  are  Pawns  on  both  sides  of  the 
board. 

Example  10.  —  In  these  cases  the  general  rule  is 
to  act  immediately  att  the  side  wliere  you  have  the  su- 


^m^     ^m,^     ^m^     » 


^_ «  ^  M 


WWW 


perior  forces.     Thus  we  have : 
I.  P— KKt  4. 


i8  PAWrN  ENDINGS 

It  is  generally  advisable  to  advance  the  Pawn  that  is 
free  from  opposition. 

I P-QR4. 

Black  makes  an  advance  on  the  other  side,  and  now 
White  considers  whether  or  not  he  should  stop  the 
advance.  In  this  case  either  way  wins,  but  generally 
the  advance  should  be  stopped  when  the  opposing 
King  is  far  away. 

2.  P-QR4,  K-B3;  3.P-R4,  K-K3. 

If  3. .  .K —  Kt  3,  then  simple  counting  will  show  that 
White  goes  to  the  other  side  with  his  King,  wms  the 
P  at  Q  R  4,  and  then  Queens  his  single  Pawn  long 
before  Black  can  do  the  same. 

4.  P-Kt  5,  K-B  2;  5'K-B  5,  K-Kt  2; 
6.P  — R  5,  K— B  2. 

If  6...P  — R  3;  7  P— Kt  6,  and  then  the  two 
Pawns  defend  themselves  and  White  can  go  to  the 
other  side  with  his  ELing,  to  win  the  other  Pawn. 

7.   K-K5. 

Now  it  is  time  to  go  to  the  other  side  with  the  King, 
win  the  Black  Pawn  and  Queen  the  single  Pawn. 
This  is  typical  of  all  such  endings  and  should  be  worked 
out  by  the  student  in  this  case  and  in  similar  cases 
which  he  can  put  up. 


SO:\IE  WINNING  POSITIONS 


19 


4.  SOME  WINNING  POSITIONS  IN  THE  MIDDLE- 
GAME 

By  the  time  the  student  has  digested  all  that  has 
been  previously  explained,  he,  no  doubt,  is  anxious 
to  get  to  the  actual  game  and  play  with  all  the  pieces. 
However,  before  considering  the  openings,  we  shall 
devote  a  little  time  to  some  combinations  that  often 
arise  during  the  game,  and  which  will  give  the  reader 
some  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  game,  once  he  becomes 
better  acquainted  with  it. 

Example  11. 


■ to  ^..m* 


^ _« « «.....„„ 


P 

5  a  s  ■ 


It  is  Black's  move,  and  thinking  that  White  merely 
threatens  to  play  Q— R  6  and  to  mate  at  K  Kt  7, 
Black  plays  i. .  .R— K  i,  threatening  mate  by  way 
of  R  —  K  8.  White  now  uncovers  his  real  and  most 
effective  threat,  \dz. : 

I...R— Ki;  2QxPch,KxQ;  3R— Rsch, 
K—  Kti;   4R— R8  mate. 


20 


SOME  WINNING  POSITIONS 


This  same  type  of  combination  may  come  as  the 
result  of  a  somewhat  more  compHcated  position. 

Example  12. 


-f/Miii        '-^Jm^        1/^^^  *"  <..y.///y 


i 


1 


B,..^...^S..... ^^ 


I ^  ^  ^ 


1 


White  is  a  piece  behind,  and  miless  he  can  win  it 
back  quickly  he  will  lose ;   he  therefore  plays : 

1.  Kt  X  Kt  B  — Kt  4 

He  cannot  take  the  Kt  because  White  threatens  mate 
by  Q  X  P  ch  followed  by  R  —  R  3  ch. 

2.  Kt— Kych  QxKt 

Again  if  B  X  Kt ;  Q  X  P  ch,  K  X  Q ;  R  —  R  3  ch, 
King  moves ;   P.  —  R  8  mate. 

3.  RX  Q  Bx  R 

4.  Q-Q7 

and  White  wins  one  of  the  two  Bishops,  remains 
with  a  Q  and  a  B  against  a  R  and  B,  and  should 
therefore  win  easily.     These  two  examples  show  the 


IN  THE   MIDDLE-GAME 


21 


danger  of  advancing  the  K  Kt  P  one  square,  after 
having  Castled  on  that  side. 

Example  13. 


W! 


m 


i    -  i  ^ 


■_»^ 


W 


This  is  another  very  interesting  t>pe  of  combina- 
tion. Black  has  a  R  for  a  Kt  and  should  therefore 
win,  unless  White  is  able  to  obtain  some  compensa- 
tion immediately.  WTiite,  in  fact,  mates  in  a  few 
moves  thus : 


I.   Kt  — B  6ch 


PxKt 


Forced,  otherwise  Q  X  P  mates. 

2.  Q— Kt  3  ch  K  — R  I 

3.  B  X  P  mate. 

Example  14.  —  The  same  t>Toe  of  combination  oc- 
curs in  a  more  complicated  form  in  the  following 
position. 


22 


SOME  WINNING  POSITIONS 


W      ." .6^ 


1.  B  X  Kt  Q  X  B. 

If . . .  B  X  Kt ;    Q  —  B   3   threatens  mate,  and  there- 
fore wins  the  Q,  which  is  already  attacked. 

2.  Kt— B  6ch  Px  Kt 

3.  R— Kt3  ch  K— R  I 

4.  B  X  P  mate. 

Example  15.  —  A  very  frequent  type  of  combina- 
tion is  shown  in  the  following  position. 


mn.      ''mm.^u.wm.     m 


m ^M 


IN  THE  MIDDLE-GAME 


23 


Here  White  is  the  exchange  and  a  Pawn  behind, 
but  he  can  win  quickly  thus :  i  B  x  P  ch,  K  X  B. 
(If  I...K-R  i;  2  Q-K  R  5,  P  — KKts; 
3  Q — R  6,  and  wins.) 

2  Q— R  5  ch,  K— Kt  i;  3  Kt— Kt  5,  and  Black 
cannot  stop  mate  at  K  R  7  except  by  sacrificing  the 
Queen  by  Q — K  5,  which  would  leave  White  with  a 
Q  for  a  R. 

Example  16.  —  This  same  t5TDe  of  combination  is 
seen  in  a  more  complicated  form  in  the  foUowmg 
position. 


1  p^rjl 

'tf#j 

^1 

%  i  fcli  i 

iy 

2  . 

B,  ■ 

^'H^^ft:^^^^^^ 

B 

^ 

n^m 

^m  ^  1^^..  -^ 

'^^L 

h  ^P 

r 

i:.ij   B 

■     1 

V? 

1   H 

1^ 

White  proceeds  as  follows :  i  Kt  X  Kt  ch  (this 
clears  the  line  for  the  B) ;  B  X  Kt  (to  stop  the  Kt 
from  moving  to  Kt  5  after  the  sacrifice  of  the  B) ; 
2  R  X  B,  Kt  X  R  best ;  3  B  X  P  ch,  K  X  B.  (If 
3...K-R1;  4  Q-R5,  P-K  Kt3;  sBxPch, 
K— Kt  2;  6  Q  — R  7  ch,  K— B  3;  7  P  — Kt  5  ch, 
K— K  3;  SBxPch,  RxB;  9  Q— K  4  mate.) 
4  Q— R  5  ch,  K— Kt  i;    5  Kt— Kt  5,  R  — B  i ; 


24      RELATIVE  WALVE  OF  THE  PIECES 

6  Q— R  7  ch,  K  — B  i;  7  Q— R  8  ch,  Kt— Kt  i; 
8  Kt  — R  7  ch,  K— K  2;  9  R— K  i  ch,  K— Q  i; 
10  Q  X  Kt  mate. 

This  combination  is  rather  long  and  has  many  vari- 
ations, therefore  a  beginner  will  hardly  be  able  to 
fathom  it;  but,  knowing  the  tyjDe  of  combination, 
he  might  under  similar  circumstances  undertake  and 
carry  out  a  briUiant  attack  which  he  would  otherwise 
never  think  of.  It  will  be  seen  that  all  the  combina- 
tions shown  have  for  a  foundation  the  proper  co-ordi- 
nation of  the  pieces,  which  have  all  been  brought  to 
bear  against  a  weak  point. 

5.   RELATIVE  VALUE  OF  THE   PIECES 

Before  going  on  to  the  general  principles  of  the 
openings,  it  is  advisable  to  give  the  student  an  idea 
of  the  proper  relative  value  of  the  pieces.  There  is 
no  complete  and  accurate  table  for  all  of  them,  and 
the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  compare  the  pieces  sep- 
arately. 

For  all  general  theoretical  purposes  the  Bishop  and 
the  Knight  have  to  be  considered  as  of  the  same  value, 
though  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  Bishop  will  prove  the 
more  valuable  piece  in  most  cases ;  and  it  is  well  known 
that  two  Bishops  are  almost  always  better  than  two 
Knights. 

The  Bishop  will  be  stronger  against  Pawns  than 
the  KLnight,  and  in  combination  with  Pawns  will  also 
be  stronger  against  the  Rook  than  the  Knight 
will  be. 


RELATIVE  VALUE  OF  THE  PIECES      25 

A  Bishop  and  a  Rook  are  also  stronger  than  a  Knight 
and  a  Rook,  but  a  Queen  and  a  Knight  may  be  stronger 
than  a  Queen  and  a  Bishop. 

A  Bishop  will  often  be  worth  more  than  three  PawTis, 
but  a  Knight  very  seldom  so,  and  may  even  not  be 
worth  so  much. 

A  Rook  will  be  worth  a  Knight  and  two  Pawns, 
or  a  Bishop  and  two  Pawns,  but,  as  said  before,  the 
Bishop  will  be  a  better  piece  against  the  Rook. 

Two  Rooks  are  slightly  stronger  than  a  Queen. 
They  are  slightly  weaker  than  two  Knights  and  a 
Bishop,  and  a  little  more  so  than  two  Bishops  and 
a  Knight.  The  power  of  the  Knight  decreases  as 
the  pieces  are  changed  off.  The  power  of  the  Rook, 
on  the  contrary,  increases. 

The  King,  a  purely  defensive  piece  throughout  the 
middle-game,  becomes  an  offensive  piece  once  all  the 
pieces  are  off  the  board,  and  sometimes  even  when 
there  are  one  or  two  minor  pieces  left.  The  handling 
of  the  King  becomes  of  paramount  importance  once 
the  end-game  stage  is  reached. 

6.   GENERAL  STRATEGY  OF  THE  OPENING 

The  main  thing  is  to  drcclop  the  pieces  quickly. 
Get  them  into  play  as  fast  as  you  can. 

From  the  outset  two  moves,  iP— K4oriP  —  Q4, 
open  up  lines  for  the  Queen  and  a  Bishop.  Therefore, 
theoretically  one  of  these  two  moves  must  be 
the  best,  as  no  other  first  move  accomplishes  so 
much. 


26  GENERAL  STRATEGY 

Example  17.  —  Suppose  we  begin : 

1.  P  — K4  P— K4 

2.  Kt— KB  3 

This  is  both  an  attacking  and  a  developing  move. 
Black  can  now  either  reply  with  the  identical  move  or 
play 

2 Kt— QB3 

This  developing  move  at  the  same  time  defends 
the  King's  Pawn. 

3.  Kt-B3  Kt-B3 
These  moves  are  of  a  purely  developing  nature. 

4.  B-Kt5 

//  is  generally  advisable  not  to  bring  this  Bishop 
out  until  one  Knight  is  out,  preferably  the  King's 
Knight.  The  Bishop  could  also  have  been  played 
to  B  4,  but  it  is  advisable  whenever  possible  to  combine 
development  and  attack. 

4 B-Kt5 

Black  replies  in  the  same  manner,  threatening  a  pos- 
sible exchange  of  Bishop  for  Knight  with  Kt  X  P  to 
follow. 

5-   0-0 

an  indirect  way  of  preventing  5...BxKt,  which 
more  experience  or  study  will  show  to  be  bad.  At 
the  same  time  the  Rook  is  brought  into  action  in  the 
centre,  a  very  important  point. 


OF  THE  OPENING  27 

5 0-0 

Black  follows  the  same  line  of  reasoning. 

6.  P-Q3  P-Q3 

These  moves  have  a  two-fold  object,  viz. :  to  pro- 
tect the  King's  Pawn  and  to  open  the  diagonal  for  the 
development  of  the  Queen's  Bishop. 

7.  B-Kt5 


'm 


.'-1,  "    2     t»   '         W(im    m    '-"■   '    w 


mmj^m    wn^i    mm 


>  -mm.  »  « 


mm.  a  ^     W  A  M 


l«i 


m.  ^  i^ 


A  very  powerful  move,  which  brings  us  to  the  middle- 
game  stage,  as  there  is  already  in  view  a  combination 
to  win  quickly  by  Kt  —  Q  5.  This  threat  makes  it 
impossible  for  Black  to  continue  the  same  course. 
(There  is  a  long  analysis  showing  that  Black  should 
lose  if  he  also  plays  B  —  Kt  5.)  He  is  now  forced  to 
play  7...BxKt,  as  experience  has  shown,  thus 
bringing  up  to  notice  three  things. 

First,  the  complete  development  of  the  opening 
has  taken  only  seven  moves.  (This  varies  up  to  ten 
or  twelve  moves  in  some  very  exceptional  cases.  As 
a  rule,  eight  should  be  enough.)     Second,  Black  has 


28  CONTROL   OF  THE  CENTRE 

been  compelled  to  exchange  a  Bishop  for  a  Knight, 
but  as  a  compensation  he  has  isolated  White's  Q  R  P 
and  doubled  a  Pawn.  (This,  at  such  an  early  stage  of 
the  game,  is  rather  an  advantage  for  White,  as  the  Pawn 
is  doubled  towards  the  centre  of  the  board.)  Third, 
White  by  the  exchange  brings  up  a  Pawn  to  control 
the  square  Q  4,  puts  Black  on  the  defensive,  as  experi- 
ence will  show,  and  thus  keeps  the  initiative,  an  unques- 
tionable advantage.^ 

The  strategical  principles  expounded  above  are  the 
same  for  all  the  openings,  only  their  tactical  appli- 
cation varies  according  to  the  circumstances. 

Before  proceeding  further  I  wish  to  lay  stress  on 
the  following  point  which  the  student  should  bear  in 
mind. 

Before  development  has  been  completed  no  piece  should 
he  moved  more  than  once,  unless  it  is  essential  in  order 
to  obtain  either  material  advantage  or  to  secure  freedom 
of  action. 

The  beginner  would  do  well  to  remember  this,  as 
well  as  what  has  already  been  stated :  viz.,  bring 
out  the  Knights  before  bringing  out  the  Bishops. 

7.  CONTROL  OF  THE  CENTRE 
The  four  squares,  K  4  and  Q  4  on  each  side  respec- 
tively, are  the  centre  squares,  and  control  of  these 
squares  is  called  control  of  the  centre.  The  control  of 
the  centre  is  of  great  importance.  No  violent  attack 
can  succeed  without  controlling  at  least  two  of  these 
^  The  value  of  the  initiative  is  explained  in  section  20,  p.  77. 


CONTROL  OF  THE   CENTRE  29 

squares,  and  possibly  three.  Many  a  manoeu\Te  in 
the  opening  has  for  its  sole  object  the  control  of  the 
centre,  which  invariably  ensures  the  initiative.  It  is 
well  always  to  bear  this  in  mind,  since  it  will  often  be 
the  reason  of  a  series  of  moves  which  could  not  other- 
wise be  properly  understood.  As  this  book  progresses 
I  shall  dwell  more  fully  on  these  different  points.  At 
present  I  shall  devote  some  time  to  openings  taken 
at  random  and  explain  the  moves  according  to  general 
principles.  The  student  will  in  that  way  train  his 
mind  in  the  proper  direction,  and  will  thus  have  less 
trouble  in  finding  a  way  out  when  confronted  with  a 
new  and  difficult  situation. 

Example  18. 

1.  P— K4  P— K4 

2.  Kt— KB  3  P  — Q3 

A  timid  move.  Black  assumes  a  defensive  attitude 
at  once.  On  principle  the  move  is  wrong.  In  the 
openings,  whenever  possible,  pieces  should  he  moved  in 
preference  to  Paums. 

3-    P-Q4 
White   takes   the   offensive   immediately   and   strives 
to  control  the  centre   so  as  to  have  ample  room  to 
deploy  his  forces. 

3 Kt-Q2 

Black  does  not  wish  to  relinquish  the  centre  and  also 
prefers  the  text  move  to  Kt  —  Q  B  3,  which  would 
be  the  more  natural  square  for  the  Kt.    But  on  prin- 


30  CONTROL   OF  THE   CENTRE 

ciple  the  move  is  wrong,  because  it  blocks  the  action 
of  the  Queen's  Bishop,  and  instead  of  facihtating  the 
action  of  Black's  pieces,  tends,  on  the  contrary,  to 
cramp  them. 

4.  B  — QB  4  P  — KR3 

Black  is  forced  to  pay  the  penalty  of  his  previous 
move.  Such  a  move  on  Black's  part  condemns  by 
itself  any  form  of  opening  that  makes  it  necessary. 
White  threatened  Kt  —  Kt  5  and  Black  could  hot  stop 
it  with  4. .  .B  —  K  2,  because  of  5  P  X  P,  Kt  X  P 
(if  5...PXP,  6  Q-Q  5);  6  KtxKt,  PxKt; 
7  Q —  R  5,  and  White  wins  a  Pawn  and  has  besides  a 
perfectly  safe  position.   - 

5.  Kt  — B3  KKt  — B3 

6.  B  — K3  B  — K2 

7.  Q— K2 

It  should  be  noticed  that  White  does  not  Castle  yet. 
The  reason  is  that  he  wants  to  deploy  his  forces  first, 
and  through  the  last  move  force  Black  to  play 
P  —  Q  B  3  to  make  room  for  the  Queen  as  White 
threatens  R—  Q  i,  to  be  followed  by  P  X  P.  Black's 
other  alternatives  would  finally  force  him  to  play 
P  X  P,  thus  abandoning  the  centre  to  White. 

7 P-B3 

8.  R— Qi  Q-B  2 

9.  0  -O 

With  this  last  move  White  completes  his  development, 
while  Black  is  evidently  somewhat  hampered.  A  simple 
examination  will  suffice  to  show  that  White's  position 


CONTROL   OF  THE   CENTRE  31 

is  unassailable.  There  are  no  weak  spots  in  his  armour, 
and  his  pieces  are  ready  for  any  manoeuvre  that  he 
may  wish  to  carry  out  in  order  to  begin  the  attack  on 
the  enemy's  position.  The  student  should  carefully 
study  this  example.  It  will  show  him  that  it  is  some- 
times convenient  to  delay  Castling.  I  have  given  the 
moves  as  they  come  to  my  mind  without  following 
any  standard  book  on  openings.  WTiether  the  moves 
given  by  me  agree  or  not  with  the  standard  works,  I 
do  not  know,  but  at  the  present  stage  of  this  book 
it  is  not  convenient  to  enter  into  discussions  of  mere 
technicalities  which  the  student  will  be  able  to  under- 
stand when  he  has  become  more  proficient. 

Example  19. 

1.  P— K4  P— K4 

2.  Kt— KB  3  P— Q3 

3.  P-Q4  B-Kt5 

A  bad  move,  which  violates  one  of  the  principles  set 
down,  according  to  which  at  least  one  Knight  should 
be  developed  before  the  Bishops  are  brought  out,  and 
also  because  it  exchanges  a  Bishop  for  a  Knight,  which 
in  the  opening  is  generally  bad,  unless  there  is  some 
compensation. 


4.  PxP 

BxKt 

.P  X  P  loses  a  Pawn. 

5.  QxB 

PxP 

6.   B  — QB4 

Q-B3 

If  Kt  —  B  3  ;   Q  —  Q  Kt  3  wins  a  Pa\\Ti. 


32 


TRAPS 


7.  Q-QKt3  P-QKt3 

8.  Kt-B3  P-QB3 

To  prevent  Kt— Q  5- 


i^ m.....,..,mj^^^^ 


*      •      1^      ™ 

^^    p^    ^p    P""" 


Black,  however,  has  no  pieces  out  except  his  Queen, 
and  White,  with  a  Bishop  and  a  Knight  already  devel- 
oped, has  a  chance  of  obtaining  an  advantage  quickly 
by  playing  Kt  —  Q  5  anyway.  The  student  is  left 
to  work  out  the  many  variations  arising  from  this 
position. 

These  examples  will  show  the  practical  appHcation 
of  the  principles  previously  enunciated.  The  student 
is  warned  against  playing  Pawns  in  preference  to  pieces 
at  the  beginning  of  the  game,  especially  P— K  R  3 
and  P  — Q  R  3,  which  are  moves  very  commonly  in- 
dulged in  by  beginners. 

8.  TRAPS 
I  shall  now  give  a  few  positions  or  traps  to  be  avoided 
in  the  openings,  and  in  which  (practice  has  shown) 
beginners  are  often  caught. 


TRAPS 


33 


Example  20. 


■•aigli     ^m     €m 


iP     ■ 


*«a^.A»i." 


i M PI 

.4 


White  plays: 

1.  PxP  KtxP 
Black  should  have  recaptured  with  the  Pawn. 

2.  Kt  y  Kt  B  X  Q 

3.  BxPch  K— K2 

4.  Kt  —  Q  5  mate. 


Example  21. 


;>:  -^^Wm 


W         '.^^-t-^: 


34  TRAPS 

Black,  having  the  move,  should  play  P— K  3.  But 
suppose  he  plays  Kt  —  K  B  3  instead,  then  comes  — 

1.  B  X  P  ch 

Kt  — K  5  would  also  give  White  the  advantage,  the 
threat  being  of  course  ifBxQ;  2BXP  mate.  Nor 
does  B  —  R  5  help  matters,  because  of  2  Q  X  B,  i . . . 
B  —  K  3  leaves  Black  with  the  inferior  position.  But 
White's  move  in  the  text  secures  an  immediate  material 
advantage,  and  the  beginner  at  any  rate  should  never 
miss  such  an  opportunity  for  the  sake  of  a  speculative 
advantage  in  position. 

I KxB 

2.  Kt —  K  5  ch         K  moves 

3.  KtxB 

and  White  has  won  a  Pawn  besides  having  the  better 
position. 

There  are  a  good  many  other  traps  —  in  fact,  there 
is  a  book  written  on  traps  on  the  chess  board;  but 
the  type  given  above  is  the  most  common  of  all. 


CHAPTER  II 
Further  Principles  in  End-Game  Play 

We  shall  now  go  back  to  the  endings  in  search  of  a 
few  more  principles,  then  again  to  the  middle-game, 
and  finally  to  the  openings  once  more,  so  that  the  ad- 
vance may  not  only  be  gradual  but  homogeneous.  In 
this  way  the  foundation  on  which  we  expect  to  build 
the  structure  will  be  firm  and  solid, 

9.  A  CARDINAL  PRINCIPLE 


'fm     wm.    ^^^    '^^^  ^ 


^    ^    F 


m^^    ^m^^^l.  ^ 


k 


In  the  position  shown  above.  White  can  draw  by 
playing  P— Kt  4  according  to  the  general  rule  that 
governs  such  cases,  i.e.  to  advance  the  Pawn  that  is 
free  from  opposition.  But  suppose  that  White,  either 
because  he  does  not  know  this  principle  or  because  he 


35 


36  A  CARDINAL  PRINCIPLE 

does  not,  in  this  case,  sufficiently  appreciate  the  value 
of  its  application;  suppose,  we  say,  that  he  plays 
I  p  _  Q  R  4.  Then  Black  can  win  by  playing  i . . . 
P  —  Q  R  4,  applying  one  of  the  cardinal  prmciples  of 
the  high  strategy  of  chess  — 

A  unit  thai  holds  two. 

In  this  case  one  Pawn  would  hold  two  of  the  op- 
ponent's Pawns.  The  student  cannot  lay  too  much 
stress  on  this  principle.  It  can  be  applied  in  many 
ways,  and  it  constitutes  one  of  the  principal  weapons 
in  the  hands  of  a  master. 

Example  22.  —  The  example  given  should  be  suffi- 
cient proof.  We  give  a  few  moves  of  the  main  vari- 
ation :  — 

1.  P  — R4  P  — QR4 

2.  K— Kt  2         K  — B  5 
(Best ;    see  why.) 

3.  P  — Kt  4         PXP 
(Best.) 

4.  P  — R5  P  — Kt6 

5.  P  — R6  P  — Kt  7 

6.  P-R7  P-Kt8(Q) 

7.  P-R8(Q)     Q-Ksch 

8.  Q  X  Q  K  X  Q 

This  brings  the  game  to  a  position  which  is  won  by 
Black,  and  which  constitutes  one  of  the  classical 
endings  of  King  and  Pawns.  I  shall  try  to  explain  the 
guiding  idea  of  it  to  those  not  familiar  with  it. 


A  CLASSICAL  ENDING 


37 


10.  A  CLASSICAL  ENDDsG 


Example  23. —  In  this  position  WTiite's  best  line 
of  defence  consists  in  keeping  his  Pawn  where  it  stands 
at  R  2.  As  soon  as  the  Pawn  is  advanced  it  becomes 
easier  for  Black  to  win.  On  the  other  hand,  Black's 
plan  to  win  (supposing  that  WTiite  does  not  advance 
his  Pawn)  may  be  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first 
part  will  be  to  get  his  King  to  K  R  6,  at  the  same  time 
keeping  intact  the  position  of  his  Pawns.  (This  is 
all  important,  since,  in  order  to  win  the  game,  it  is 
essential  at  the  end  that  Black  may  be  able  to  advance 
his  rearmost  Pawn  one  or  two  squares  according  to 
the  position  of  the  White  King.) 


1.  K— Kt3 

2.  K— Kt  2 


K  — K6 


If  2  K-Kt  4,  K-B  7;   3  P-R  4,  P-Kt  3  Tsill 
win. 


38 


A  CLASSICAL  ENDING 


2 K-B5 

3.  K-B  2  K— Kts 

4.  K— Kt  2  K— R  5 

5.  K— Kt  I  K— R6 
The  first  part  has  been  completed. 


B   B 

B   B 

H  B  i 

J  ^^^iS^„^,/^^ 

B  B 

B   H  1 

^^   ^^ 

^^     ^^ 

^^   ^^ 

^^     ^^ 

^^   ^^   ^ 

P     ^^(^ 

i^^p   ^^p  ^ 

^     ^^p  0^ 

^^p   ^^p 

^^P     ^^P 

^»   ^^ 

^^     ^^ 

^   ™  'P 

P     F^ 

The  second  part  will  be  short  and  will  consist  in 
advancing  the  R  P  up  the  K. 

6.  K— Ri  P  — R4 

7.  K-Kt  I  P  — R5 
This  ends  the  second  part. 


^P*P*«*g 


A  CLASSICAL  ENDING  39 

The  third  part  will  consist  in  timing  the  advance  of 
the  Kt  P  so  as  to  play  P  — Kt  6  when  the  White 
King  is  at  R  I.  It  now  becomes  evident  how  neces- 
sary it  is  to  be  able  to  move  the  Kt  P  either  one  or 
two  squares  according  to  the  position  of  the  WTiite 
King,  as  indicated  previously.^  In  this  case,  as  it  is 
White's  move,  the  Pawn  will  be  advanced  two  squares 
since  the  White  King  will  be  in  the  comer,  but  if  it 
were  now  Black's  move  the  Kt  P  should  only  be  ad^ 
vanced  one  square  since  the  WTiite  King  is  at 
Kt  I. 

8.  K— R  I  P  — Kt4 

9.  K-Kt  I  P-KT5 

10.  K— Ri  P  — Kt6 

11.  Px  P 

If  K— Kt  I,  P— Kt  7. 

II PXP 

12.  K— Kt  I  P  — Kt  7 

13.  K  — B  2  K  — R7 

and  wins. 

It  is  in  this  analytical  way  that  the  student  shovdd 
try  to  learn.  He  will  thus  train  his  mind  to  follow  a 
logical  sequence  in  reasoning  out  any  position.  This 
example  is  excellent  training,  since  it  is  easy  to  di\'ide 
it  into  three  stages  and  to  explain  the  main  point  of 
each  part. 

The  next  subject  we  shall  study  is  the  simple  oppo- 

*  See  page  37. 


40 


OBTAINING  A  PASSED  PAWN 


sition,  but  before  we  devote  our  time  to  it  I  wish  to 
call  attention  to  two  things. 

11.   OBTAINING  A  PASSED   PAWN 

When  three  or  more  PawTis  are  opposed  to  each 
other  in  some  such  position  as  the  one  in  Example  24, 
there  is  always  a  chance  for  one  side  or  the  other  of 
obtaining  a  passed  Pawn. 


■  illl 


WM:  M 


'^m      m 


m ^m..^^^^^m^^^^m 


Wa 


m^ «    ■    M^ 


^    ^    ^  ,^ 
^w    ^^    ^^    ^^^ 


m.       ^m      ^m      ^m 


Example  24.  —  In  the  above  position  the  way  of 
obtaining  a  passed  Pawn  is  to  advance  the  centre 
Pawn. 

1.  P  — Kt6  RPxP 

If  B  PxP;   P  — R  6, 

2.  P  — B6  PxBP 

3.  P  — R6 

and   as  in  this  case  the  White  Pawn  is   nearer    to 
Queen   than   any  of   the    Black   Pawns,    White    will 


WHICH  PAWN  FIRST  TO  QUEEN        41 

win.  Now  if  it  had  been  Black's  move  Black  could 
play 

I P-Kt3 

2.  BPxP  BPxP 

It  would  not  be  advisable  to  try  to  obtain  a  passed 
Pawn  because  the  White  Pawns  would  be  nearer  to 
Queen  than  the  single  Black  Pawn. 

3.  Px  P  PxP 

and  the  game  properly  played  would  be  a  draw.  The 
student  should  work  this  out  for  himself. 


12.    HOW  TO  FIND  OUT  WHICH  PAWN  WILL 
BE  FIRST  TO  QUEEN 

When  two  Pawns  are  free,  or  will  be  free,  to  ad- 
vance to  Queen,  you  can  find  out,  by  counting,  which 
Pawn  will  be  the  first  to  succeed. 

Example  25.  —  In  this  position  whoever  moves  first 
wins. 


42        WTIICH  PAWN  FIRST  TO  QUEEN 

The  first  thing  is  to  find  out,  by  counting,  whether 
the  opposing  King  can  be  in  time  to  stop  the  passed 
Pawn  from  Queening.  When,  as  in  this  case,  it  cannot 
be  done,  the  point  is  to  count  which  Pawn  comes  in 
first.  In  this  case  the  tune  is  the  same,  but  the  Pawn 
that  reaches  the  eighth  square  first  and  becomes  a 
Queen  is  in  a  position  to  capture  the  adversary's 
Queen  when  he  makes  one.    Thus : 

1.  P  — R4  P-KR4 

2.  P-R5  P-R5 

3.  P— Kt6  PXP 

Now  comes  a  httle  calculation.  White  can  capture 
the  Pawn,  but  if  he  does  so,  he  will  not,  when  Queen- 
ing, command  the  square  where  Black  will  also  Queen 
his  Pawn.    Therefore,  instead  of  taking,  he  plays: 

4.  P-R6  P-R6 

5.  P  — R7  P-R7 

6.  P  — R8  (Q),  and  wins. 

The  student  would  do  well  to  acquamt  hunself 
with  various  simple  endings  of  this  sort,  so  as  to  ac- 
quire the  habit  of  counting,  and  thus  be  able  to  know 
with  ease  when  he  can  or  cannot  get  there  first.  Once 
again  I  must  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  book 
cannot  by  itself  teach  how  to  play.  It  can  only  serve 
as  a  guide,  and  the  rest  must  be  learned  by  experience, 
and  if  a  teacher  can  be  had  at  the  same  time,  so  much 
the  faster  will  the  student  be  able  to  learn. 


THE  OPPOSITION 


43 


13.    THE  OPPOSITION 

When  Kings  have  to  be  moved,  and  one  player  can, 
by  force,  bring  his  King  into  a  position  similar  to  the 
one  shown  in  the  following  diagram,  so  that  his  adver- 
sary is  forced  to  move  and  make  way  for  him,  the 
player  obtaining  that  advantage  is  said  to  have  the 
opposition. 


^^^^^^^ 


— 


^— ^^?^^^ ' 


^^       ^^       ^^       M. — 


^m.^     ^m.^^^m^^^m 


Example  26.  —  Suppose  in  the  above  position  White 
plays 

I.   K-Q4 

Now  Black  has  the  option  of  either  opposing  the 
passage  of  the  WTiite  Kmg  by  playing  K  —  Q  3 
or,  if  he  prefers,  he  can  pass  wdth  his  own  King 
by  replying  K  —  B  4.  Notice  that  the  Kings  are 
directly  opposed  to  each  other,  and  the  number  of 
intervening  squares  between  them  is  odd  —  one  in 
this  case. 
The  opposition  can  take  the  form  shown    above, 


44 


THE  OPPOSITION 


which  can  be  called  actual  or  close  frontal  opposition ; 
or  this  form: 


^— "J 


^p  p 


^ 


^  ^  ^  ^ 


which  can  be  called  actual  or  close  diagonal  opposition, 
or,  again,  this  form : 


i   «   ^   ^ 
^"   «   "  .  A 


^P   P   P   P 


^   ^p   ^p 


which  can  be  called  actual  or  close  lateral  opposition. 
In  practice  they  are  all  one  and  the  same.  The 
Kings  are  always  on  squares  of  the  same  colour,  there 
is  only  one  intervening  square  between  the  Kings, 
and  the  player  who  has  moved  last  ^^has  the  opposition.^^ 


THE  OPPOSITION 


45 


Now,  if  the  student  will  take  the  trouble  of  moving 
each  King  backwards  as  in  a  game  in  the  same  frontal, 
diagonal  or  lateral  line  respectively  shown  in  the  dia- 
grams, we  shall  have  what  may  be  called  distant  frontal, 
diagonal  and  lateral  opposition  respectively. 

The  matter  of  the  opposition  is  highly  important, 
and  takes  at  times  somewhat  complicated  forms,  all 
of  which  can  be  solved  mathematically;  but,  for  the 
present,  the  student  should  only  consider  the  most 
simple  forms.  (An  examination  of  some  of  the  examples 
of  King  and  Pawns  endings  already  given  will  show 
several  cases  of  close  opposition.) 

In  all  simple  forms  of  opposition, 
when  the  Kings  are  on  the  same  line  and  the  number 
of  intervening  squares  between  them  is  even,  the  player 
who  has  the  move  has  the  opposition. 


'^M.      W 


'm     W     W    \' 


^„M„^^_ 


^„„„„  ^^       ^^ 


m        ^1^        m^ 


Example  27.  —  The  above  position  shows  to  advan- 
tage   the   enormous   value    of    the   opposition.    The 


46  THE  OPPOSITION 

position  is  very  simple.  Very  little  is  left  on  the 
board,  and  the  position,  to  a  beginner,  probably  looks 
absolutely  even.  It  is  not  the  case,  however.  Who- 
ever  has  tlie  move  wins.  Notice  that  the  Kings  are 
directly  in  front  of  one  another,  and  that  the  number 
of  intervening  squares  is  even. 

Now  as  to  the  procedure  to  win  such  a  position. 
The  proper  way  to  begin  is  to  move  straight  up. 
Thus: 


I.   K— K2 

K— K2 

2.     K-K3 

K-K3 

3.   K— K4 

K-B3 

N6w  White  can  exercise  the  option  of  either  playing 
K  —  Q  5  and  thus  passing  with  his  King,  or  of  playing 
K  —  B  4  and  prevent  the  Black  King  from  passing, 
thereby  keeping  the  opposition.  Mere  counting  will 
show  that  the  former  course  will  only  lead  to  a 
draw,  therefore  White  takes  the  latter  course  and 
plays : 

4.  K  — B4  K— Kt3 
If4...K— K3;    5K—  Kt5  will  win. 

5.  K— K5  K— Kt  2 

Now  by  counting  it  will  be  seen  that  White  wins  by 
capturing  Black's  Knight  Pawn. 

The  process  has  been  comparatively  simple  in  the 
variation  given  above,  but  Black  has  other  Unes  of 


THE  OPPOSITION  47 

defence  more  difficult  to  overcome.  Let  us  begin 
anew. 

I.   K— K2  K  — Qi 

Nowif  2K— Q3,  K— Q  2,  or  if  2  K— K3,  K— K  2, 
and  Black  obtains  the  opposition  in  both  cases.  (WTien 
the  Kings  are  directly  in  tront  of  one  another,  and  the 
number  of  intervening  squares  between  the  Kings 
is  odd,  the  player  who  has  moved  last  has  the 
opposition.) 

Now  in  order  to  win,  the  White  King  must  advance. 
There  is  only  one  other  square  where  he  can  go,  B  3, 
and  that  is  the  right  place.  Therefore  it  is  seen  that 
in  such  cases  when  the  opponent  makes  a  so-called 
waiting  move,  you  must  advance,  leaving  a  rank 
or  file  free  between  the  Kings.  Therefore  we 
have  — 

2.  K  — B  3  K— K  2 

Now,  it  would  be  bad  to  advance,  because  then  Black, 
by  bringing  up  his  King  in  front  of  your  King,  would 
obtain  the  opposition.  It  is  White's  turn  to  play  a 
similar  move  to  Black's  first  move,  viz. : 

3.  K-K3 

which  brings  the  position  back  to  the  first  variation 
shown.  The  student  would  do  well  to  familiarise  him- 
self with  the  handling  of  the  King  in  all  examples  of 
opposition.  It  often  means  the  winning  or  losing  of 
a  game. 


48 


THE  OPPOSITION 


Example  28.  —  The  following  position  is  an  excellent 
proof  of  the  value  of  the  opposition  as  a  means  of 
defence. 


wm 


%^    «^    ilJ^    me;^^ 


m jm. 


m 


m      ^m^m^. 


White  is  a  Pawn  behind  and  apparently  lost,  yet  he 
can  manage  to  draw  as  follows : 

1.  K— Ri! 

The  position  of  the  Pawns  does  not  permit  White 
to  draw  by  means  of  the  actual  or  close  opposition, 
hence  he  takes  the  distant  opposition :    in  effect  if 

1  K — B    I    (actual  or   close   opposition),  K — Q   7; 

2  K — B  2,  K— Q  6  and  White  cannot  continue  to 
keep  the  lateral  opposition  essential  to  his  safety, 
because  of  his  own  Pawn  at  B  3.  On  the  other  hand, 
after  the  text  move,  if 

I K-Q7 

2.  K— R2  K— Q6 

3.  K-R3I  K-K7 


THE  OPPOSITION  49 

4.  K—  Kt2  K— K6 

5.  K-Kt3  K-Q5 

6.  K— Kt  4 

attacking  the  Pawn  and  forcing  Black  to  play  6 . . . 
K  —  K  6  when  he  can  go  back  to  Kt  3  as  already 
shown,  and  always  keep  the  opposition. 
Going  back  to  the  original  position,  if 

1.  K— Ri  P  — Kt5 

White  does  not  play  P  X  P,  because  P  —  K  5  will 
win,  but  plays : 

2.  K— Kt2  K— Q7 

If  2...PXP  ch;    3  KxP,  followed  by  K— K  4, 
will  draw. 

3.  PXP  P-K5 

and  mere  counting  will  show  that  both  sides  Queen, 
drawing  the  game. 

If  the  student  will  now  take  the  trouble  to  go  back 
to  the  examples  of  King  and  Pawns  which  I  have 
given  in  this  book,^  he  will  realise  that  in  all  of  them 
the  matter  of  the  opposition  is  of  paramount  impor- 
tance ;  as,  in  fact,  it  is  in  nearly  all  endings  of  King 
and  Pawns,  except  in  such  cases  where  the  Pawn- 
position  in  itself  ensures  the  win. 
^  See  page  13. 


so 


THE   RELATIVE  VALUE 


14.  THE  RELATIVE  VALUE  OF  KNIGHT  AND  BISHOP 
Before  turning  our  attention  to  this  matter  it  is 
weU  to  state  now  that  two  Knights  alone  cannot  mate, 
but,  under  certain  conditions  of  course,  they  can  do 
so  if  the  opponent  has  one  or  more  Pawns. 


'^m.    ^"'"W^    '^""""' 


m 


»__•___•__»- 


Example  29.  —  In  the  above  position  White  cannot 
win,  although  the  Black  King  is  cornered,  but  in  the 
following  position,  in  which  Black  has  a  Pawn, 


White  wins  with  or  without  the  move.    Thus : 
I.   Kt  — Kt6  P  — R5 


OF  KNIGHT  AND   BISHOP 


51 


White  cannot  take  the  Pa\\Ti  because  the  game  will 
be  drawn,  as  explained  before. 


2. 

Kt-K5 

P-R6 

3- 

Kt  — B  6 

P  — R7 

4. 

Kt-Kt5 

P-R8(Q) 

5- 

Kt  — B  7  mate 

The  reason  for  this  pecuHarity  in  chess  is  eviaent. 
White  with  the  two  Knights  can  only  stalemate  the 
King,  unless  Black  Jias  a  Pawn  which  can  he  moved. 

Example  30.  —Although  he  is  a  Bishop  and  a  Pa\\'n 
ahead  the  following  position  cannot  be  won  by  WTiite. 


WM 


i     ■     pi 
i     wM mm 


It  is  the  greatest  weakness  of  the  Bishop,  that  when 
the  Rook's  Pawn  Queens  on  a  square  of  opposite  colour 
and  the  opposing  King  is  in  front  of  the  Pawn,  the 
Bishop  is  absolutely  worthless.  All  that  Black  has  to 
do  is  to  keep  moving  his  King  close  to  the  comer 
square. 


52 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE 


M 


m 


^ 


™    W  i 


Example  31.  —  In  the  above  position  White  with  or 

Take  the  most  difficult 


without  the  move  can  win. 
variation. 


I. 

2. 

3- 
4- 

5- 
6. 

7- 


Kt  —  Kt  4  ch 
K— B  I 
K— B  2 
Kt-K3 
Kt  — B  I 
Kt  X  P  mate 


K  — Ry 
K— R8 
P— Kt4 
P  — R7 
P-Kt5 
P— Kt6ch 


Now  that  we  have  seen  these  exceptional  cases,  we 
can  analyse  the  different  merits  and  the  relative 
value  of  the  Knight  and  the  Bishop. 

It  is  generally  thought  by  amateurs  that  the  Knight 
is  the  more  valuable  piece  of  the  two,  the  chief  reason 
being  that,  unlike  the  Bishop,  the  Knight  can  command 
both  Black  and  White  squares.  However,  the  fact  is 
generally  overlooked  that  the  Knight,  at  any  one  time, 


OF  KNIGHT  AND   BISHOP 


53 


has  the  choice  of  one  colour  only.  It  takes  much  longer 
to  bring  a  Knight  from  one  wing  to  the  other.  Also, 
as  shown  in  the  following  Example,  a  Bishop  can 
stalemate  a  Knight ;  a  compliment  which  the  Knight 
is  unable  to  return. 


Example  32. 


^P      P 


^m      ^m      ^M      ^m 
^      ^      i 


The  weaker  the  player  the  more  terrible  the  Knight 
is  to  him,  but  as  a  player  increases  in  strength  the 
value  of  the  Bishop  becomes  more  evident  to  him,  and 
of  course  there  is,  or  should  be,  a  corresponding  decrease 
in  his  estimation  of  the  ^'alue  of  the  Knight  as  compared 
to  the  Bishop.  In  this  respect,  as  in  many  others,  the 
masters  of  to-day  are  far  ahead  of  the  masters  of  former 
generations.  While  not  so  long  ago  some  of  the  very 
best  amongst  them,  like  Pillsbury  and  Tchigorin,  pre- 
ferred Knights  to  Bishops,  there  is  hardly  a  master  of 
to-day  who  would  not  completely  agree  with  the  state- 
ments made  above. 


54 


THE  RELATIVE  VALUE 


Example  33.  —  This  is  about  the  only  case  when  the 
Knight  is  more  valuable  than  the  Bishop. 


m     ™ 


^     ^     i 


i«  «  ^ 


^      imi 


^^      ^ 


It  is  what  is  called  a  '^hlock  position ^''^  and  all  the 
Pawns  are  on  one  side  of  the  board.  (If  there  were  Pawns 
on  both  sides  of  the  board  there  would  be  no  advantage 
in  having  a  Knight.)  In  such  a  position  Black  has 
excellent  chances  of  winning.  Of  course,  there  is  an 
extra  source  of  weakness  for  WTiite  in  having  his  Pawns 
on  the  same  colour-squares  as  his  Bishop.  This  is  a 
mistake  often  made  by  players.  The  proper  way, 
generally,  in  an  ending,  is  to  have  your  Pawns  on 
squares  of  opposite  colour  to  that  of  your  own  Bishop. 
When  you  have  your  Pawns  on  squares  of  the  same 
colour  the  action  of  your  own  Bishop  is  limited  by 
them,  and  consequently  the  value  of  the  Bishop  is 
diminished,  since  the  value  of  a  piece  can  often  be 
measured  by  the  number  of  squares  it  commands. 
While  on  this  subject,  I  shall  also  call  attention  to  the 


OF  KNIGHT  AND   BISHOP 


55 


fact  that  it  is  generally  preferable  to  keep  your  Pawns 
on  squares  of  the  same  colour  as  that  of  the  opposing 
Bishop,  particularly  if  they  are  passed  Pawns  sup- 
ported by  the  King.  The  principles  might  be  stated 
thus : 

When  the  opponent  has  a  Bisliop,  keep  your  Pawns 
on  squares  of  the  same  colour  as  your  opponent's 
Bisliop. 

Whenever  you  Imve  a  BisJiop,  wJiether  the  opponent 
has  also  one  or  not,  keep  your  Paivns  on  squares  of  the 
opposite  colour  to  that  of  your  own  Bishop. 

Naturally,  these  principles  have  sometimes  to  be 
modified  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the  position. 

Example  34.  —  In  the  following  position  the  Pa\Mis 
are  on  one  side  of  the  board,  and  there  is  no  advantage 
in  having  either  a  Knight  or  a  Bishop.  The  game 
should  surelv  end  in  a  draw. 


m 


<mA- . 


milaf^.' 


.-^       ^..,.j 


MA  i  ill  i 


■M 


■im 4mM 


4b_ 


56 


THE   RELATIVE   VALUE 


Example  36.  —  Now  let  us  add  three  Pawns  on 
each  side  to  the  above  position,  so  that  there  are 
Pawns  on  both  sides  of  the  board. 


mm. 


P^^rf 


wm  2  M^Ai>?''^#  &  ■mm  \ 

m^  fil*^  i  iiJ  i 


m     ..^Mi_ 


It  is  now  preferable  to  have  the  Bishop,  though 
the  position,  if  properly  played  out,  should  end  in  a 
draw.  The  advantage  of  having  the  Bishop  Hes  as 
much  in  its  ability  to  command,  at  long  range,  both 
sides  of  the  board  from  a  central  position  as  in  its 
abihty  to  move  quickly  from  one  side  of  the  board 
to  the  other. 


~m 


^^       mm  ■»  mm 


m      mm 


P 
J 4m& 


"9      '^i      Wm      -mm 
m      «      ^m      ™ 

^  A  ^      ^  ft  ■ 
W      W^      ^^      F — 


OF  KNIGHT  AND   BISHOP 


57 


Example  36  —  In  the  above  position  it  is  un- 
questionably an  advantage  to  have  the  Bishop,  because, 
although  each  player  has  the  same  number  of  Pawns, 
they  are  not  balanced  on  each  side  of  the  board.  Thus, 
on  the  King's  side,  White  has  three  to  two,  while  on 
the  Queen's  side  it  is  Black  that  has  three  to 
two.  Still,  with  proper  play,  the  game  should  end 
in  a  draw,  though  White  has  somewhat  better 
chances. 

Example  37.  —  Here    is    a   position    in    which    to 
have  the  Bishop  is  a  decided  advantage,  since  not 


only  are  there  Pawms  on  both  sides  of  the  board, 
but  there  is  a  passed  Pawn  (K  R  P  for  WTiite, 
Q  R  P  for  Black).  Black  should  have  extreme 
difficulty  in  drawing  this  position,  if  he  can  do  it 
at  all. 


58       VALUE    OF   KNIGHT   AND   BISHOP 


Example  38.  —  Again  Black  would  have  great  diffi' 
culty  in  drawing  this  position. 


'P    P    P    P 


» §  P 


The  student  should  carefully  consider  these  posi- 
tions. I  hope  that  the  many  examples  will  help  him 
to  understand,  in  their  true  value,  the  relative  merits 
of  the  Knight  and  Bishop.  As  to  the  general  method 
of  procedure,  a  teacher,  or  practical  experience,  wiU 
be  best.  I  might  say  generally,  however,  that  the 
proper  course  in  these  endings,  as  in  all  similar  end- 
ings, is :  Advance  of  the  King  to  the  centre  of  the 
board  or  towards  the  passed  Pawns,  or  Pawns  that 
are  susceptible  of  being  attacked,  and  rapid  advance 
of  the  passed  Pawn  or  Pawns  as  far  as  is  consistent 
with  their  safety. 

To  give  a  fixed  line  of  play  would  be  folly.  Each 
ending  is  different,  and  requires  different  handhng, 
according  to  what  the  adversary  proposes  to  do. 
Calculation  by  visuaHsing  the  future  positions  is  what 
will  count. 


MATE  WITH  KNIGHT  AND   BISHOP      59 


15.   HOW  TO  MATE  WITH  A  KNIGHT  AND  A  BISHOP 

Now,  before  going  back  again  to  the  middle-game 
and  the  openings,  let  us  see  how  to  mate  with  Knight 
and  Bishop,  and,  then,  how  to  win  with  a  Queen 
against  a  Rook. 

With  a  Knight  and  a  Bishop  the  mate  can  only  be 
given  in  the  earners  of  the  same  colotir  as  the  Bishop. 


Example  39.  —  In  this  example  we  must  mate  either 
at  Q  R  I  or  K  R  8.  The  ending  can  be  divided  mto 
two  parts.  Part  one  consists  in  driving  the  Black 
King  to  the  last  line.  We  might  begin,  as  is  generally 
done  in  all  such  cases,  by  advancmg  the  King  to  the 
centre  of  the  board : 

I.   K— K2  K  — Q2 

Black,  in  order  to  make  it  more  difficult,  goes  towards 
the  white-squared  comer: 

2.  K-Q3  K-B3 

3.  B-B4  K-Q4 


6o 


HOW  TO  IMATE  WITH 


4.  Kt— K  2  K— B  4 

5.  Kt-B3  K-Kt5 

6.  K— Q4  K— R4 

7.  K-B5  K-R3 

8.  K-B  6  K-R  2 

9.  Kt— Q5  K— Ri 

The  first  part  is  now  over;   the  Black  King  is  in  the 
white-squared  corner. 


The  second  and  last  part  will  consist  in  driving  the 
Black  King  now  from  QR8toQRiorKR8m 
order  to  mate  him.  Q  R  i  will  be  the  quickest  in  this 
position. 

10.  Kt  — Kt6ch       K  — R2 

11.  B  — B  7  K  — R3 

12.  B  — Kt8  K  — R4 

13.  Kt-Q5  K-R  5 

Black  tries  to  make  for  K  R  i  with  his  King.     White 
has  two  ways  to  prevent  that,  one  by  14  B  —  K  5, 


A  KNIGHT  AND  BISHOP  6i 

K —  Kt  6 ;  15  Kt —  K  3,  and  the  other  which  I  give 
as  the  text,  and  which  I  consider  better  for  the  student 
to  learn,  because  it  is  more  methodical  and  more  in 
accord  with  the  spirit  of  all  these  endings,  by  using 
the  King  as  much  as  possible. 


14. 

K- 

-B5! 

K- 

-Kt6 

15- 

Kt- 

-Kt  4 

K- 

-B6 

16. 

B- 

-B4 

K- 

-Kt6 

17- 

B- 

-K5 

K- 

-R5 

18. 

K- 

-B4 

K- 

-R4 

19. 

B- 

-B  7ch 

K- 

-R5 

20. 

Kt- 

-Q3 

K- 

-R6 

21. 

B- 

-Kt6 

K- 

-R5 

22. 

Kt- 

-  Kt  2  ch 

K- 

-R6 

23- 

K- 

-Ba 

K- 

-R7 

24. 

K- 

-B  2 

K- 

-R6 

25. 

B- 

-B  5ch 

K- 

-R7 

26. 

Kt- 

-Q3 

K- 

-R8 

27. 

B- 

-Kt4 

K- 

-R7 

28. 

Kt- 

-B  I  ch 

K- 

-R8 

29. 

B- 

-  B  3  mate 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  ending  is  rather  laborious. 
There  are  two  outstanding  features :  the  close  follow- 
ing by  the  King,  and  the  controlling  of  the  squares  of 
opposite  colour  to  the  Bishop  by  the  combined  action 
of  the  Knight  and  King.  The  student  would  do  well 
to  exercise  himself  methodically  in  this  ending,  as  it 
gives  a  very  good  idea  of  the  actual  power  of  the  pieces, 
and  it  requires  foresight  in  order  to  accomphsh  the 


62 


QUEEN  AGAINST  ROOK 


mate  within  the  fifty  moves  which  are  granted  by 
the  rules. 

16.  QUEEN  AGAINST  ROOK 

This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  endings  without 
Pawns.  The  resources  of  the  defence  are  many,  and 
when  used  skilfully  only  a  very  good  player  will  prevail 
within  the  limit  of  fifty  moves  allowed  by  the  rules. 
(The  rule  is  that  at  any  moment  you  may  demand 
that  your  opponent  mate  you  within  fifty  moves. 
However,  every  tune  a  piece  is  exchanged  or  a  Pawn 
advanced  the  counting  must  begin  afresh.) 

Example  40.  —  This  is  one  of  the  standard  positions 
which  Black  can  often  bring  about.  Now,  it  is  White's 
move.    If  it  were  Black's  move  it  would  be  simple,  as 


'^^'W 
■^M     ^     ^ 


^«^^ 


i^    ^m^^^^m,^^{ 


he  would  have  to  move  his  Rook  away  from  the  King 
(find  out  why),  and  then  the  Rook  would  be  compara- 


QUEEN  AGAINST  ROOK  63 

lively  easy  to  win.  We  deduce  from  the  above  that 
the  main  object  is  to  force  the  Black  Rook  away 
from  the  defending  King,  and  that,  in  order  to  compel 
Black  to  do  so,  we  must  bring  about  the  position  in 
the  diagram  with  Black  to  move.  Once  we  know 
what  is  required,  the  way  to  proceed  becomes  easier  to 
find.    Thus : 

I.   Q— K  5ch 

Not  I  Q  —  R  6,  because  R  —  B  2  ch ;  2  K  —  Kt  6, 
R— B3ch;  3KXR.  Stalemate.  (The  beginner 
will  invariably  fall  into  this  trap.) 


I 

2.  Q— R  I  ch 

3.  Q-R5 


K  to  R  I  or  to  R  2 
K— Kt  I 


In  a  few  moves  we  have  accomplished  our  object. 
The  first  part  is  concluded.  Now  we  come  to  the 
second  part.  The  Rook  can  only  go  to  a  WTiite  square, 
otherwise  the  first  check  with  the  Queen  will  win  it. 
Therefore 


3- 
4. 

R— Kt6 

Q-Ksch 

K  — R  I  best 

5- 

Q— R8ch 

K-R2 

6. 

Q— Kt  7ch 

K-Ri 

7- 

Q-Kt8ch 

R-Kt  I 

8. 

Q  —  R  2  mate 

(The  student  should  find  out  by  himself  hov/  to  win 
when  3...R— Kt  8;    4  Q— K  5  ch,  K  — R  2.) 


64 


QUEEN  AGAINST  ROOK 


^m      ^m      ^m 

^^^       ^^       WM       I 


i^^^^^  ^^^^ 


^      P      P      P 
^^^  ^^  ^^^      ^^^      ^^^ 


Example  41.  —  The  procedure  here  is  very  similar. 
The  things  to  bear  in  mind  are  that  the  Rook  must 
be  prevented  from  interposing  at  Kt  i  because  of  an 
immediate  mate,  and  in  the  same  way  the  King  must 
be  prevented  from  going  either  to  R  3  or  B  i. 

Example  42.  —  We  shall  now  examine  a  more  diffi- 
cult position. 


^m.,^      ^^m^      ^^,  ,    m, 
[      «       ■       ■       ^. 


QUEEN  AGAINST  ROOK  65 

Many  players  would  be  deceived  by  this  position. 
The  most  likely  looking  move  is  not  the  best.  Thus 
suppose  we  begin 

1.  Q— K5ch      K— B  I 

2.  K— Kt6        R— Q2 

The  only  defence,  but,  unfortunately,  a  very  effective 
one,  which  makes  it  very  difficult  for  White,  since  he 
cannot  play  3  Q  —  K  6  because  of  3 . .  .  R  —  Kt  2  ch ; 
4  K  —  B  6,  R  —  Kt  3  ch  draws.  Nor  can  he  win 
quickly  by  3  Q— Q  B  5  ch  because  3...K— K  i, 
4  K— B  6,  R  —  Q  3  ch!  driving  back  the  WTiite 
King. 

Now  that  we  have  seen  the  difficulties  of  the  situa- 
tion let  us  go  back.    The  best  move  is 

1.  Q— Kt  5ch!  K  — Ri 

IfK— R2;   2  Q— Kt  6ch,  K  — R  i;  3K— R6! 

2.  Q— K  5  ch!    K  — R  2  best 

3.  K— Kt  5         R  — R2!best 

If3...R—  Kt2ch;  4K— B6  leads  to  a  position 
similar  to  those  in  Examples  40  and  41. 

4.  Q— K4ch  K— Kt  I 

5.  Q  — B  4ch  K  — R  2 

6.  K— B  6  R— KKt  2 

7.  Q— R4ch  K— Kt  I 

8.  Q-R5 


66  QUEEN  AGAINST  ROOK 

and  we  have  the  position  of  Example  40  with  Black 
to  move. 
Let  us  go  back  again. 

1.  Q— Kt  5  ch    K— B  I 

2.  Q— Q8ch      K— Kt  2 

3.  K— Kt  5         R— B6 

The  best  place  for  the  Rook  away  from  the  King. 
3...K  — R2;   4  Q— Q  4,  R— Kt  2  ch;    5  K  — B  6 

would  lead  to  positions  similar  to  those  already  seen. 

4.  Q— Q4ch       K  — B  I 

5.  K— Kt6 

5  Q_Q  6  ch,  K— Kt  2;  6Q— K5  ch,  K  — B  i ; 
7  K  —  Kt  6  would  also  win  the  Rook.  The  text  move, 
however,  is  given  to  show  the  finesse  of  such  endings. 
White  now  threatens  mate  at  Q  8. 

5 R— Kt6ch 

6.  K— B  6  R  — B  6ch 

7.  K— K6         R— KR6 

White  threatened  mate  at  K  R  8. 

8.  Q— B  4ch 

and  the  Rook  is  lost. 

Note,  in  these  examples,  that  the  checks  at  long 
range  along  the  diagonals  have  often  been  the  key  to 
all  the  winning  manoeuvres.    Also  that  the  Queen  and 


QUEEN  AGAINST  ROOK  67 

King  are  often  kept  on  different  lines.  The  student 
should  carefully  go  over  these  positions  and  consider 
all  the  possibilities  not  given  in  the  text. 

He  should  once  more  go  through  everything  already 
written  before  proceeding  further  with  the  book. 


CHAPTER  III 
Planning  a  Win  in  Middle-Game  Play 

I  shall  now  give  a  few  winning  positions  taken  from 
my  own  games.  I  have  selected  those  that  I  beheve 
can  be  considered  as  types,  i.e.  positions  that  may 
easily  occur  again  in  a  somewhat  similar  form.  A 
knowledge  of  such  positions  is  of  great  help ;  in  fact, 
one  cannot  know  too  many.  It  often  may  help  the 
player  to  find,  with  little  effort,  the  right  move,  which 
he  might  not  be  able  to  find  at  all  without  such 
knowledge. 

17.    ATTACKING  WITHOUT  THE  AID 
OF    KNIGHTS 


68 


ATTACKING  WITHOUT  KNIGHTS        69 

Example  43.  —  It  is  Black's  move,  and  as  he  is  a 
Kt  and  P  behind  he  must  win  quickly,  if  at  all.  He 
plays : 

I QR— Kt  i! 

2.  R— B  2 

If,  Q  X  Q,  R  X  P  ch ;    K—  R  I,  B  -  Q  4  and  mate 
follows  in  a  few  moves. 

2 R  X  P  ch 

3.  K— B  I  B  — B  5  ch 

4.  Ktx  B  R— Kt  8mate 


mm 


'i''%M 


fi*->i 


m  HiH 


„  M      mm      mm  '^  iS9i 
■      ■      ■      ■ 


Example  44.  —  Black's  last  move  was  P  —  K  6, 
played  with  the  object  of  stopping  what  he  thought 
was  White's  threat,  viz.  :R— Q  R  5,  to  which  he 
would  have  answered  Q  —  B  5  ch  and  drawn  the  game 
by  perpetual  check.  White,  however,  has  a  more 
forceful  move,  and  he  mates  in  three  moves  as 
follows : 


70 


ATTACKING  WITHOUT 

1.  R  X  P  ch  Q  X  R 

2.  R —  Q  R  5  Black  moves 

3.  White  mates 


W^^ 


^1      i^^W;^M 


^    ^ ^    ^^ 


Example  45.  —  White  has  a  beautiful  position,  but 
still  he  had  better  gain  some  material,  if  he  can,  before 
Black  consolidates  his  defensive  position.  He  there- 
fore plays: 

1.  RX  Kt!  PxR 

2.  Bx  Pch  K— K2 

If  Kt  X  B ;    R  X  Kt  and  Black  would  be  helpless. 


3.  Q-R7ch 

4.  Q  X  Kt  ch 

5.  Q-R7ch 

6.  B  — B8 

7.  R  X  Q  ch 

8.  RxR 


K— Ki 
K— Q2 
Q— K2 
QxQ 
K-Ki 
Resigns 

In  these  few  examples  the  attacking  has  been  done 
by  Rooks  and  Bishops  in  combination  with  the  Queen. 


THE  AID   OF  KNIGHTS 


71 


There  have  been  no  Knights  to  take  part  in  the  attack. 
We  shall  now  give  some  examples  in  which  the  Knights 
play  a  prominent  part  as  an  attacking  force. 

18.    ATTACKING  WITH  KNIGHTS  AS  A 
PROMINENT  FORCE 


^^^^^.'#^  ""^^^ 


«       


Example  46. —  White  is  two  Pawns  behind.  He 
must  therefore  press  on  his  attack.  The  game  con- 
tinues : 

I.   Kt  (B  5)xKtP     Kt  — B4 

Evidently  an  error  which  made  the  winning  easier 
for  WTiite,  as  he  simply  took  the  Rook  with  the  Knight 
and  kept  up  the  attack.  Black  should  have  played : 
i...KtxKt.  Then  would  have  followed:  2  Kt- 
Bdch,  K-Kta;  3  Kt  X  B,  P-B3(best);  4  P- 

K  5,  K-B  2;  5  KtxP,  R-K  2;  6  Kt-K  4, 
and  Black  should  lose.^ 


*  Full  score  and  notes  are  given  in  My  Chess  Career,  by  J.  R. 
Capablanca  (Game  No.  ii). 


72 


ATTACKING  WITH  KNIGHTS 


^l(^B 


"  i  ■    W  i  m  i 


mm 


Example  47.  —  The  student  should  carefully  ex- 
amine the  position,  as  the  sacrifice  of  the  Bishop  in 
similar  situations  is  typical,  and  the  chance  for  it  is 
of  frequent  occurrence  in  actual  play.  The  game 
continues : 


1.  B  X  P  ch 

2.  Kt— Kt  5  ch 


KxB 
K-Kt3 


Best.  If  2 . . .  K  —  R  3  ;  3  Kt  X  P  ch  wins  the  Queen, 
and  if2...K —  Kti;  3Q —  R5,  with  an  irresistible 
attack. 

3.  Q-Kt4  P-B4 

4.  Q-Kt3  K-R3 

White  finally  won.^ 

*  This  position  is  elaborated  under  Example  50  (p  80.). 


WINNING  BY  INDIRECT  ATTACK       73 

19.    WINNING  BY  INDIRECT  ATTACK 

We  have  so  far  given  positions  where  the  attacks 
were  of  a  violent  nature  and  directed  against  the 
King's  position.  Very  often,  however,  in  the  middle- 
game  attacks  are  made  against  a  position  or  against 
pieces,  or  even  Pawns. 

The  minning  of  a  Paum  among  good  players  of  even 
strength  often  means  the  winning  of  the  game. 

Hence  the  study  of  such  positions  is  of  great  im- 
portance. We  give  below  two  positions  in  which  the 
attack  aims  at  the  gain  of  a  mere  Pawn  as  a  means  of 
ultimately  winning  the  game. 


^^     A         *        'I,  I     ^^ 


g 


'^F 


Example  48.  —  Black  is  a  Pawn  behind,  and  there 
is  no  violent  direct  attack  against  White's  King. 
Black's  pieces,  however,  are  very  well  placed  and  free 
to  act,  and  by  co-ordinating  the  action  of  all  his  pieces 
he  is  soon  able  not  only  to  regain  the  Pawn  but  to 
obtain  the  better  game.    The  student  should  carefullv 


74       WINNING  BY  INDIRECT  ATTACK 

consider  this  position  and  the  subsequent  moves.  It 
is  a  very  good  example  of  proper  co-ordination  in  the 
management  of  forces.     The  game  continues: 

I R— Ri 

2.  P  — QR4 

White's  best  move  was  P  —  Q  Kt  3,  when  would 

follow  Kt  X  B ;   3  Q  X  Kt,  R  —  R  6  and  Black  would 

ultimately  win  the  Q  R  P,  always  keeping  a  slight 

advantage  in  position.    The  text  move  makes  matters 

easier. 

2 KtxB 

3.  QxKt  Q-B5 

4.  KR— Qi  KR— Kt  I 

Black  could  have  regained  the  Pawn  by  playing 
B  X  Kt,  but  he  sees  that  there  is  more  to  be  had, 
and  therefore  increases  the  pressure  against  Wnite's 
Queen  side.    He  now  threatens,  among  other  thmgs, 

R  X  Kt  P. 

5.  Q-K3  R-Kt5 

Threatening  to  win  the  exchange  by  B  — Q  5. 

6.  Q-Kt5  B-Qsch 

7.  K— Ri  QR— Kt  I 

This  threatens  to  win  the  Kt,  and  thus  forces  White 
to  give  up  the  exchange. 

8.  RxB  QxR 

9.  R-Qi  Q-B5 
Now  Black  will  recover  his  Pawn. 


WINNING  BY  INDIRECT  ATTACK       75 


Wi 


I 


1 


P  M    ■    ■ 


Example  49.  —  An  examination  of  this  position  will 
show  that  Black's  main  weakness  lies  in  the  exposed 
position  of  his  King,  and  in  the  fact  that  his  Q  R 
has  not  yet  come  into  the  game.  Indeed,  if  it  were 
Black's  move,  we  might  conclude  that  he  would  have 
the  better  game,  on  account  of  having  three  Pawns  to 
two  on  the  Queen's  side,  and  his  Bishop  commanding 
the  long  diagonal. 

It  is,  however,  Wliite's  move,  and  he  has  two  courses 
to  choose  from.  The  obvious  move,  B  —  B  4,  might 
be  good  enough,  since  after  iB  —  B4,  QR  —  Qi; 
2  P  — Q  Kt  4  would  make  it  difhcult  for  Black.  But 
there  is  another  move  which  completely  upsets  Black's 
position  and  wins  a  Pawn,  besides  obtaining  the 
better  position.  That  move  is  Kt— Q  4!  The  game 
continues  as  follows: 


1.  Kt— Q4! 

2.  Rx  B 


PxKt 
Kt  —  Kt  5 


76       WINNING  BY  INDIRECT  ATTACK 
There  is  nothing  better,  as  White  threatened  B  —  B  4. 

3.  B  — B  4ch  K— R  I 

4.  R— K6  P— Q6 

5.  RXP 

And  White,  with  the  better  position,  is  a  Pawn 
ahead. 

These  positions  have  been  given  with  the  idea  of 
acquaintmg  the  student  with  different  types  of  com- 
bmations.  I  hope  they  will  also  help  to  develop  his 
imagination,  a  very  necessary  quaHty  in  a  good  player. 
The  student  should  note,  m  all  these  middle-game 
positions,  that  — 

once  the  opportunity  is  offered,  all  the  pieces  are  thrown 
into  action  '^en  masse^''  when  necessary;  and  that  all 
the  pieces  smoothly  co-ordinate  their  action  with  machine- 
like  precision. 

That,  at  least,  is  what  the  ideal  middle-game  play 
should  be,  if  it  is  not  so  altogether  in  these  examples. 


CHAPTER  IV 

General  Theory 

Before  we  revert  to  the  technique  of  the  openings 
it  will  be  ad\dsable  to  dwell  a  little  on  general  theory, 
so  that  the  openings  in  their  relation  to  the  rest  of  the 
game  may  be  better  understood. 

20.    THE  INITIATIVE 

As  the  pieces  are  set  on  the  board  both  sides  have 
the  same  position  and  the  same  amount  of  material. 
White,  however,  has  the  move,  and  the  move  in  this 
case  means  the  initiative^  and  the  initiative,  other 
things  being  equal,  is  an  advantage.  Now  this  ad- 
vantage must  be  kept  as  long  as  possible,  and  should 
only  be  given  up  if  some  other  advantage,  material 
or  positional,  is  obtained  in  its  place.  WTiite,  according 
to  the  principles  already  laid  down,  develops  his  pieces 
as  fast  as  possible,  but  in  so  doing  he  also  tries  to 
hinder  his  opponent's  development,  by  applying  pres- 
sure wherever  possible.  He  tries  first  of  all  to  control 
the_centre,  and  failing  this  to  obtain  some  positional 
advantage  that  will  make  it  possible  for  him  to  keep 
on  harassing  the  enemy.  He  only  relinquishes  the 
initiative  when  he  gets  for  it  some  material  ad\-antage 
under  such  favourable  conditions  as  to  make  him  feel 
"  77 


78  DIRECT  ATTACKS  EN  MASSE 

assured  that  he  will,  in  turn,  be  able  to  withstand  his 
adversary's  thrust;  and  finally,  through  his  superi- 
ority of  material,  once  more  resume  the  initiative, 
which  alone  can  give  him  the  victory.  This  last 
assertion  is  self-evident,  since,  in  order  to  wm  the 
game,  the  opposing  King  must  be  driven  to  a  position 
where  he  is  attacked  without  having  any  way  of  escape. 
Once  the  pieces  have  been  properly  developed  the 
resulting  positions  may  vary  in  character.  It  may 
be  that  a  direct  attack  against  the  King  is  in  order; 
or  that  it  is  a  case  of  improvuig  a  position  already 
advantageous;  or,  finally,  that  some  material  can  be 
gained  at  the  cost  of  relinquishing  the  initiative  for 
a  more  or  less  prolonged  period. 

21.    DIRECT  ATTACKS  EN  MASSE 

In  the  first  case  the  attack  must  be  carried  on  with 
sufficient  force  to  guarantee  its  success.  Under  no 
consideration  must  a  direct  attack  against  the  King 
be  carried  on  a  outrance  unless  there  is  absolute  cer- 
tainty in  one's  own  mind  that  it  will  succeed,  since 
failure  in  such  cases  means  disaster. 

Example  50.  —  A  good  example  of  a  successful  direct 
attack  against  the  King  is  shown  in  the  following 
diagram : 

In  this  position  White  could  simply  play  B  — B  2 
and  still  have  the  better  position,  but  instead  he  pre- 
fers an  immediate  attack  on  the  King's  side,    with 


DIRECT  ATTACKS  EN  MASSE 


79 


the  certaint)'  in  his  mind  that  the  attack  will  lead  to 
a  win.     The  game  continues  thus:  ^ 


12.  B  X  P  ch 

13.  Kt  —  Kt  5  ch 

14.  Q— Kt  4 


KxB 
K-Kt3 
P  — B4 


Best.  P  —  K  4  would  have  been  immediately  fatal. 
Thus:  14...P— K  4;  15  Kt— K  6  ch,  K  — B  3; 
16  P  — B  4!  P— K  5;  17  Q— Kt  5  ch,  KxKt; 
18  Q— K  5  ch,  K  — Q  2;  19  K  R— Q  i  ch,  Kt  — 
Q6;  20  Ktx  P,  K— B  3  (if  K— K  i,  Kt  — Q6ch 
wins  the  Queen) ;  21  R  X  Kt,  Q  X  R ;  22  R—  B  i  ch, 
K  —  Kt  3  (if  K  —  Q  2  mate  m  two) ;  23  Q  —  B  7  ch 
and  mate  in  five  moves. 

^  We  give,  from  now  on,  games  and  notes,  so  that  the  student 
may  familiarise  himself  with  the  many  and  varied  considerations 
that  constantly  are  borne  in  mind  by  the  Chess  Master.  We  must 
take  it  for  granted  that  the  student  has  already  reached  a  stage 
where,  while  not  being  able  fuUy  to  understand  every  move,  yet  he 
can  derive  benefit  from  any  discussion  with  regard  to  them. 


So 


DIRECT  ATTACKS  EN  MASSE 


15.  Q-Kt3  K-R3 

16.  Q— R4ch  K— Kt3 

17.  Q— R7ch  K— B3 

If  K  X  Kt ;   Q  X  Kt  P  ch  and  mate  in  a  few  moves. 


18.  P  — K4 

19.  P  X  P 

20.  QR— Qi 

21.  Q-R3 

22.  Q— Kt3 

23.  KR— K  I 


Kt  -  Kt  3 

PxP 

Kt— Q6 
Kt(Q6)-B5 
Q-B2 
Kt  —  K  7  ch 


This  blunder  loses  at  once,  but  the  game  could  not 
be  saved  in  any  case  ;  e.g.  23. ..B  —  K3;  24RXB 
ch,  Ktx  R;    25  Kt— Q  5  mate. 


24.  R  X  Kt 

25.  Kt— R  7  ch 

26.  R  P  X  Q 

27.  Kt— Kt  5  ch 

28.  P  — B  4 


QXQ 
K  — B  2 
R  — Ri 
K-B3 

Resigns 


Example  51.  —  Another  example  of  this  kind : 


mm      m 
m 


m^Wm  ,,„.W3, 


Wwfmm 


^_^_j^|_ 


DIRECT  ATTACKS  EN  MASSE  8i 

In  the  above  position  the  simple  move  Kt  X  P 
would  win,  but  White  looks  for  complications  and 
their  beauties.  Such  a  course  is  highly  risky  until  a 
wide  experience  of  actual  master-play  has  developed 
a  sufficient  insight  into  all  the  possibiUties  of  a  position. 
This  game,  which  won  the  brilhancy  prize  at  St. 
Petersburg  in  1914,  continued  as  follows:  — 


21. 

B-R4                             Q-Q2 

22. 

Kt  X  B                                Q  X  R 

^3- 

Q— Q8ch                          Q— Ki 

-B 

2;  24  Kt— Q  6  ch,  King  moves;  25 

24. 

B  — Kych                          K  — B2 

25- 

Kt— Q6ch                        K-Kt3 

26. 

Kt— R4ch                        K  — R4 

If  26...K— R  3;  27  Kt  (Q  6)  — B  5  ch,  K-R  4; 
28  Kt  X  P  ch,  K-  R  3  ;  29  Kt  (R  4)  -  B  5  ch,  K- 
Kt  3 ;   30  Q  —  Q  6  ch  and  mate  next  move. 


27. 

KtxQ 

RxQ 

28. 

Kt  X  P  ch 

K-R3 

29. 

Kt  (Kt  7)  -  B  5  ch 

K-R4 

30- 

P— KR3! 

The  climax  of  the  combination  started  with  21  B  — 
R  4.  White  is  still  threatening  mate,  and  the  best  way 
to  avoid  it  is  for  Black  to  give  back  all  the  material 
he  has  gained  and  to  remain  three  Pawns  behind. 

The  student  should  note  that  in  the  examples  given 
the  attack  is  carried  out  with  every  available  piece, 


82  THE  FORCE  OF  THE 

and  that  often,  as  in  some  of  the  variations  pointed 
out,  it  is  the  coming  into  action  of  the  last  available 
piece  that  finally  overthrows  the  enemy.  It  demon- 
strates the  principle  already  stated : 

Direct  and  violent  attacks  against  the  King  must  he 
carried  en  masse,  with  full  force,  to  ensure  their  success. 
The  opposition  must  he  overcmne  at  all  cost;  the  attack 
cannot  he  hroken  of,  since  in  all  such  cases  that  means 
defeat. 

22.  THE  FORCE  OF  THE  THREATENED 
ATTACK 

Failing  an  opportunity,  in  the  second  case,  for 
direct  attack,  one  must  attempt  to  increase  whatever 
weakness  there  may  be  in  the  opponent's  position ; 
or,  if  there  is  none,  one  or  more  must  be  created.  It 
is  always  an  advantage  to  threaten  something,  but 
such  threats  must  be  carried  into  effect  only  if  some- 
thing Is  to  be  gained  immediately.  For,  holding  the 
threat  in  hand,  forces  the  opponent  to  provide  against 
its  execution  and  to  keep  material  in  readiness  to  meet 
it.  Thus  he  may  more  easily  overlook,  or  be  unable 
to  parry,  a  thrust  at  another  point.  But  once  the 
threat  is  carried  into  effect,  it  exists  no  longer,  and 
your  opponent  can  devote  his  attention  to  his  own 
schemes.  One  of  the  best  and  most  successful  ma- 
noeuvres in  this  type  of  game  is  to  make  a  demon- 
stration on  one  side,  so  as  to  draw  the  forces  of  your 
opponent  to  that  side,  then  through  the  greater 
mobihty  of  your  pieces  to  shift  your  forces  quickly 


THREATENED   ATTACK 


S3 


to  the  other  side  and  break  through,  before  your 
opponent  has  had  the  time  to  bring  over  the  neces- 
sary forces  for  the  defence. 

A  good  example  of  positional  play  is  shown  in  the 
following  game : 

Example  52. —  Played  at  the  Havana  Interna- 
tional IMasters  Tournament,  1913.  (French  Defence.) 
White  :  J.  R.  Capablanca.    Black  :  R.  Blanco. 


1.  P— K4 

2.  P-Q4 

3.  Kt-QB3 

4.  Kt  X  P 

5.  Kt-KB3 

6.  Kt  X  Kt  ch 
7-  Kt-K5 


P-K3 
P-Q4 
PXP 
Kt— Q  2 
KKt  — B3 
Ktx  Kt 


m 


1  &  WS. 


WM 


A'-^  ft  mm      mm  s  m»% 
M 


m 


This  move  was  first  shown  to  me  by  the  talented 
Venezuelan   amateur,   M.   Ayala.     The   object   is   to 


84 


THE  FORCE  OF  THE 


prevent  the  development  of  Black's  Queen's  Bishop 
via  Q  Kt  2,  after  P  — Q  Kt  3,  which  is  Black's  usual 
development  in  this  variation.  Generally  it  is  bad 
to  move  the  same  piece  twice  in  an  opening  before 
the  other  pieces  are  out,  and  the  violation  of  that 
principle  is  the  only  objection  that  can  be  made  to 
this  move,  which  otherwise  has  everything  to  recom- 
mend it, 

7 B-Q3 

8.   Q-B3 


mM.A.m... m.±:m. 


iii 


2    *"'    'y^yy//y^ 


i m.Aw 


B  — K  Kt  5  might  be  better.  The  text  move  gives 
Black  an  opportunity  of  which  he  does  not  avail 
himself 

8 P-B3 

P  —  B  4  was  the  right  move.  It  would  have  led  to 
complications,  in  which  Black  might  have  held  his 
own;  at  least,  White's  play  would  be  very  difficult. 
The  text  move  accomplishes  nothing,  and  puts  Black 


THREATENED   ATTACK  85 

in  an  altogether  defensive  position.  The  veiled  threat 
B  X  Kt ;    followed  by  Q  —  R  4  ch  ;    is  easily  met. 

9.   P  — B  3  0—0 

10.  B  —  K  Kt  5  B  —  K  2 

The  fact  that  Black  has  now  to  move  his  Bishop 
back  clearly  demonstrates  that  Black's  plan  of  devel- 
opment is  faulty.  He  has  lost  too  much  time,  and 
White  brings  his  pieces  into  their  most  attacking 
position  without  hindrance  of  any  sort. 

11.  B  — Q3  Kt— K  I 

The  alternative  was  Kt  —  Q  4.  Otherwise  White 
would  play  Q — R  3,  and  Black  would  be  forced  to 
play  P — K  Kt  3  (not  P — K  R  3,  because  of  the 
sacrifice  B  X  P),  seriously  weakening  his  King's  side. 

12.  Q— R3  P— KB  4 

White  has  no  longer  an  attack,  but  he  has  compelled 
Black  to  create  a  marked  weakness.  Now  WTiite's 
whole  plan  will  be  to  exploit  this  weakness  (the  weak 
K  P),  and  the  student  can  now  see  how  the  principles 
expounded  previously  are  applied  in  this  game.  Every 
move  is  directed  to  make  the  weak  King's  Pawn  un- 
tenable, or  to  profit  by  the  inactivity  of  the  Black 
pieces  defending  the  PawTi,  in  order  to  improve  the 
position  of  White  at  other  points. 

13.  B  X  B  Qx  B 

14.  0-0  R  — B3 

15.  KR— K  I  Kt  — Q3 

16.  R— K2  B  — Q2 


S6 


THE  FORCE  OF  THE 


At  last  the  Bishop  comes  out,  not  as  an  active  attack- 
ing piece,  but  merely  to  make  way  for  the  Rook. 

17.  QR— Ki  R— Ki 

18.  P  — QB  4  Kt  — B  2 

A  very  clever  move,  tending  to  prevent  P  —  B  5, 
and  tempting  White  to  play  Kt  X  B,  followed  by 
B  X  P,  which  would  be  bad,  as  the  following  varia- 
tion shows:  19  Kt  X  B,  Q  X  Kt;  20  B  x  P,  Kt  — 
Kt  4;  21  Q-Kt  4,  RxB;  22  P—  K  R  4,  P- 
KR4;  23QxR,PxQ;  24RxRch,K— R  2; 
25  P  X  Kt,  Q  X  P.  But  it  always  happens  in  such 
cases  that,  if  one  line  of  attack  is  anticipated,  there 
is  another;  and  this  is  no  exception  to  the  rule,  as 
will  be  seen. 


m  X  m 
m 


11  i  m,^m^m,/ 


'^^Mi         ^^^  ^   ^J^K,        4^^^ 


19.  P-Q5!  KtxKt 

Apparently  the  best  way  to  meet  the  manifold  threats 
of  White.  B  P  X  P  would  make  matters  worse,  as 
the  White  Bishop  would  finally  bear  on  the  weak 
King's  Pawn  ma  Q  B  4. 


THREATENED   ATTACK  87 

20.  Rx  Kt  P— KKt3 

21.  Q— R4  K— Kt  2 

22.  Q— Q4  P  — B  4 

Forced,  as  White  threatened  P  X  K  P,  and  also  Q  X  P 

23.  Q-B3  P-Kt3 

Q — Q  3  was  better.  But  Black  wants  to  tempt 
White  to  play  P  X  P,  thinking  that  he  will  soon  after 
regain  his  Pawn  with  a  safe  position.  Such,  however, 
is  not  the  case,  as  White  quickly  demonstrates.  I 
must  add  that  in  any  case  Black's  position  is,  in  my 
opinion,  untenable,  since  all  his  pieces  are  tied  up  for 
the  defence  of  a  Pawn,  while  WTiite's  pieces  are  free 
to  act. 

24.  P  X  P  B  —  B  I 


#$T^ 


25.   B  — K  2! 

The  deciding  and  timely  manoeuvre.     All  the  Black 
pieces  are  useless  after  this  Bishop  reaches  Q  5. 


8S      FORCE  OF  THREATENED  ATTACK 

25 BxP 

26.  B  — B  3  K  — B  2 

27.  B-Q5  Q-Q3 

Now  it  is  evident  that  all  the  Black  pieces  are  tied 
up,  and  it  only  remains  for  White  to  find  the  quickest 
way  to  force  the  issue.  White  will  now  try  to  place 
his  Queen  at  K  R  6,  and  then  advance  the  K  R  P 
to  R  5  in  order  to  break  up  the  Black  Pawns  defend- 
ing the  King. 

28.  Q— K3  R— K2 

If   28...P  — B  5;    29  Q  — K  R  3,  P  — K  R  4; 

30  Q  — R  4,  R— K  2;  31  Q— Kt  5,  K— Kt  2; 
32  P-K  R  4,  Q-Q  2;  33P-K  Kt  3,PXP; 
34  P —  B  4,  and  Black  will  soon  be  helpless,  as  he  has 
to  mark  time  with  his  pieces  while  Wliite  prepares 
to  advance  P  —  R  5,  and  finally  at  the  proper  time 
to  play  R  X  B,  winning. 


29. 

Q-R6 

K— Kt  I 

30- 

P  — KR4 

P-R3 

31. 

P-R5 

P-B5 

32. 

PxP 

PxP 

33- 

RxB 

Resigns. 

Commenting  on  White's  play  in  this  game.  Dr.  E. 
Lasker  said  at  the  time  that  if  White's  play  were 
properly  analysed  it  might  be  found  that  there  was 
no  way  to  improve  upon  it. 

These  apparently  simple  games  are  often  of  the  most 
difficult  nature.  Perfection  in  such  cases  is  much 
more  difficult  to  obtain  than  in  those  positions  caUing 


RELINQUISHING  THE  INITIATIVE       89 

for  a  brilliant  direct  attack  against  the  King,  involving 
sacrilices  of  pieces. 

23.    RELINQUISHING  THE  INITIATIVE 

In  the  third  case,  there  is  nothing  to  do,  once  the 
material  advantage  is  obtained,  but  to  submit  to  the 
opponent's  attack  for  a  while,  and  once  it  has  been 
repulsed  to  act  quickly  with  all  your  forces  and  win 
on  material.  A  good  example  of  this  type  of  game 
is  given  below. 

Example  53.  —  From  the  Havana  International 
Masters  Tournament,  1913.  (Ruy  Lopez.)  White: 
J.  R.  Capablanca.     Black:    D.  Janowski. 

1.  P-K4  P-K4 

2.  Kt-KB3  Kt-QB3 

3.  B-Kt5  Kt-B3 

4.  0-0  P-Qa 

5.  B  X  Kt  ch  P  X  B 

6.  P— Q4  B  — K  2 

7.  Kt-B3 

P  X  P  might  be  better,  but  at  the  time  I  was  not 
familiar  with  that  variation,  and  therefore  I  played 
what  I  knew  to  be  good. 

7 Kt  — Q2 

8.  PxP  PxP 

9.  Q-K2  0—0 

10.  R-Qi  B-Q3 

11.  B-Kt  5  Q-Ki 

12.  Kt-KR4        P-Kt3 


90       RELINQUISHING  THE  INITIATIVE 

Black  offers  the  exchange  in  order  to  gain  time  and 
to  obtain  an  attack.  Without  considering  at  all 
whether  or  not  such  a  course  was  justified  on  the  part 
of  Black,  it  is  evident  that  as  far  as  White  is  concerned 
there  is  only  one  thing  to  do,  viz.,  to  win  the  exchange 
and  then  prepare  to  weather  the  storm.  Then,  once 
it  is  passed,  to  act  quickly  with  all  forces  to  derive 
the  benefit  of  numerical  superiority. 

13.  B  — R6  Kt  — B  4 

14.  R— Q  2  R— Kt  I 

15.  Kt— Q  I  R— Kt  5 

To  force  White  to  play  P  —  Q  B  4,  and  thus  create  a 
hole  at  Q  5  for  his  Knight.^  Such  grand  tactics  show 
the  hand  of  a  master. 


16.   P— QB  4 

Kt-K3 

17.   BxR 

QxB 

18.   Kt— K3 

Kt- 

-  K  B  3  was  better. 

18 

Kt-Q5 
P-QB4 

19.   Q-Qi 

In  order  to  prevent  R  X  Kt  giving  back  the  exchange, 
but  winning  a  Pawn  and  relieving  the  position. 
20.    P  —  Q    Kt  3  R  —  Kt  I 

In  order  to  play  B  —  Kt  2  without  blocking  his  Rook. 

^  A  "  hole  "  in  chess  parlance  has  come  to  mean  a  defect  in  Pawn 
formation  which  allows  the  opponent  to  establish  his  forces  in  wedge 
formation  or  otherwise  without  the  possibility  of  dislodging  him 
by  Pawn  moves.  Thus,  in  the  following  diagram,  Black  has  two 
"holes"  at  K  B  3  and  K  R  3,  where  White  forces,  e.g.  a  Kt  or  B, 
could  establish  themselves,  supported  by  pieces  or  Pawns. 


RELINQUISHING  THE  INITIATIVE       91 

Black's  manoeuvring  for  positional  advantage  is  ad- 
mirable throughout  this  game,  and  if  he  loses  it  is 
due  entirely  to  the  fact  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  exchange, 
without  even  a  Pawn  for  it,  could  not  succeed  against 
sound  defensive  play. 


If      ^P      i 

m    wm    m 


'.    s    WM        '^**i^,        WM 


\/^—'<^ 


^y^/y/y^,  y// 


21.  Kt— B3 

22.  PxP 


P-B4 

PxP 


^^  "^  mm 


The  position  begins  to  look  really  dangerous  for  WTiite. 
In  reality  Black's  attack  is  reaching  its  maximum 
force.     Very  soon  it  will  reach  the  apex,  and  then 


92       RELINQUISHING  THE  INITIATIVE 

White,  who  is  well  prepared,  will  begin  his  counter 
action,  and  through  his  superiority  in  material  obtain 
an  undoubted  advantage. 


23- 
24. 

25- 

26. 


Kt— Bi  P  — B5 

Kt  X  Kt  B  P  X  Kt 

Q— R  5  B  —  Kt  2 

R-Ki  P  — B4 

He  could  not  play  R  —  K  i  because  of  R  x  Q  P.  Be- 
sides, he  wants  to  be  ready  to  play  P  —  K  5.  At  pres- 
ent White  cannot  with  safety  play  R  X  K  P,  but 
he  will  soon  prepare  the  way  for  it.  Then,  by  giving 
up  a  Rook  for  a  Bishop  and  a  Pawn,  he  will  completely 
upset  Black's  attack  and  come  out  a  Pawn  ahead. 
It  is  on  this  basis  that  White's  whole  defensive  ma- 
noeuvre is  founded. 

27.  P  — B  3  R— Ki 

28.  R  (Q2)  — K2     R— K3 


1^  wm.,^  ^^^^ 

Wfm:  „  ^^^^   "'  '''mm.  '"<,  '''■■. 


i 


Now  the  Black  Rook  enters  into  the  game,  but  White 
is  prepared.    It  is  now  time  to  give  back  the  exchange. 


RELINQUISHING  THE  INITIATIVE       93 


29. 

30- 
31- 
32. 
33- 
34. 


RXP 
RxB 
Q— K8 

RX  Qch 
R— K5 
Kt  — Q2 


BxR 
R  — KR3 
QxQ 
K— B  2 
R-QB3 


R  —  B  5  ch  might  have  been  better.    The  text  move 
did  not  prove  as  strong  as  anticipated. 
34 K-B3 

35.  R-Qs  R-K3 

36.  Kt  —  K  4  ch        K  —  K  2 

R  X  Kt  would  lose  easily 

37.  Rx  B  P  P-Q6! 

Very  fine.  WTiite  cannot  play  R  B  7  ch  because 
of  K—  Q  I ;   R  X  B,  R  X  Kt  winning. 

38.  K  -  B  2  B  X  Kt 

39.  P  X  B  R  X  P 

40.  R— Q  5  R— K6 

The  ending  is  very  difficult  to  win.  At  this  point 
White  had  to  make  the  last  move  before  the  game 
was  adjourned. 


i,n 


94  CUTTING   OFF   PIECES   FROM 


41. 

P  -  Q  Kt  4  ! 

R-K5 

42. 

RxP 

RxP 

43- 

R-KR3 

RxP 

44. 

RX  Pch 

K-B3 

45- 

RxP 

K-B4 

46. 

K-B3 

R-Kt  7 

47- 

R  —  R  5  ch 

K-B3 

48. 

R  — R4 

K-Kt4 

49. 

RxP 

RxRP 

50- 

P-R4ch 

K-R4 

51- 

R-B  5ch 

K-R3 

52. 

P--Kt4 

Resigns 

I  have  passed  over  the  game  Hghtly  because  of 
its  difficult  nature,  and  because  we  are  at  present 
concerned  more  with  the  opening  and  the  middle- 
game  than  we  are  with  the  endings,  which  will  be 
treated  separately. 


24.    CUTTING  OFF  PIECES  FROM  THE  SCENE 
OF  ACTION 

Very  often  in  a  game  a  master  only  plays  to  cut 
off,  so  to  speak,  one  of  the  pieces  from  the  scene  of 
actual  conflict.  Often  a  Bishop  or  a  Knight  is  com- 
pletely put  out  of  action.  In  such  cases  we  might 
say  that  from  that  moment  the  game  is  won,  because 
for  aU  practical  purposes  there  will  be  one  more  piece 
on  one  side  than  on  the  other.  A  very  good  illustration 
is  furnished  by  the  following  game. 


THE  SCENE  OF  ACTION  95 

Example  54.  —  Played  at  the  Hastings  Victory 
Tournament,  1919.  (Four  Knights.)  White:  W. 
Winter.     Black :    J.  R.  Capablanca. 

1.  P-K4  P--K4 

2.  Kt— KB  3  Kt— QB  3 


3- 

Kt-B3 

Kt-B3 

4. 

B-Kt5 

B-Kts 

5- 

0-0 

0-0 

6. 

B  X  Kt 

Niemzowitch's  variation,  which  I  have  played  suc- 
cessfully in  many  a  game.  It  gives  WTiite  a  very  solid 
game.  Niemzowitch's  idea  is  that  White  will  in  due 
time  be  able  to  play  P  —  KB  4,  opening  a  line  for  his 
Rooks,  which,  in  combination  with  the  posting  of  a 
Knight  at  K  B  5,  should  be  sufficient  to  win.  He 
thinks  that  should  Black  attempt  to  stop  the  Knight 
from  going  to  K  B  5,  he  will  have  to  weaken  his  game 
in  some  other  way.  WTiether  this  is  true  or  not  remains 
to  be  proved,  but  in  my  opinion  the  move  is  perfectly 
good.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  question  that 
Black  can  easily  develop  his  pieces.  But  it  must  be 
considered  that  in  this  variation  White  does  not 
attempt  to  hinder  Black's  development,  he  simply 
attempts  to  build  up  a  position  which  he  considers 
impregnable  and  from  which  he  can  start  an  attack 
in  due  course. 

6 QPxB 


96  CUTTING  OFF  PIECES  FROM 

The  alternative,  Kt  P  X  B ;  gives  White  the  best  of 
the  game,  without  doubt. ^ 

7.  P-Q3  B-Q3 

8.  B  —  Kt  5 

This  move  is  not  at  all  in  accordance  with  the  nature 
of  this  variation.  The  general  strategical  plan  for 
White  is  to  play  P  —  K  R  3,  to  be  followed  in  time 
by  the  advance  of  the  K  Kt  P  to  Kt  4,  and  the  bringing 
of  the  Q  Kt  to  K  B  5  via  K  2  and  K  Kt  3  or  Q  i  and 
K  3.  Then,  if  possible,  the  K  Kt  is  linked  with  the 
other  Kt  by  placing  it  at  either  K  R  4,  K  Kt  3,  or  K  3 
as  the  occasion  demands.  The  White  King  sometimes 
remains  at  Kt  i,  and  other  times  it  is  placed  at  K  Kt  2, 
but  mostly  at  K  R  i.  Finally,  in  most  cases  comes 
P  —  KB  4,  and  then  the  real  attack  begins.  Some- 
times it  is  a  direct  assault  against  the  King,^  and  at 
other  times  it  comes  simply  to  finessing  for  positional 
advantage  in  the  end-game,  after  most  of  the  pieces 
have  been  exchanged.^ 

8 P— KR3 

9.  B  — R4  P  — B4 

^  See  game  Capablanca-Kupchick,  from  Havana  International 
Masters  Tournament  Book,  19 13,  by  J.  R.  Capablanca;  or  a  game 
in  the  Carlsbad  Tournament  of  191 1,  Vidmar  playing  Black  against 
Alechin. 

^  See  Niemzowitch's  game  in  the  All  Russian  Masters  Tourna- 
ment,  1 9 14,   at  St.   Petersburg,   against  Levitzki,  I  believe. 

^  See  Capablanca-Janowski  game,  New  York  Masters  Tourna- 
ment,   1913. 


THE   SCENE  OF  ACTION 


97 


1      M 


i  ♦ 


Em 
k  i 


k 


rm 


fi^^ 


5rs5  8.  Wm.  t^  • 

2»  ^  bi^^ 


•^    « « ^?i 


/  .1  Jm^m 


To  prevent  P  —  Q  4  and  to  draw  White  into  playing 
Kt— Q  5,  which  would  prove  fatal.  Black's  plan  is 
to  play  P  —  K  Kt  4,  as  soon  as  the  circumstances 
permit,  in  order  to  free  his  Queen  and  Knight  from 
the  pin  by  the  Bishop. 

10.   Kt  —  Q  5 

White  falls  into  the  trap.  Only  lack  of  experience 
can  account  for  this  move.  WTiite  should  have  con- 
sidered that  a  player  of  my  experience  and  strength 
could  never  allow  such  a  move  if  it  were  good. 


10. 


P-KKt4 


a    A 


fl 


i^-^  I 


98 


CUTTING  OFF  PIECES  FROM 


After  this  move  White's  game  is  lost.  White  cannot 
play  Kt  X  Kt  P,  because  Kt  x  Kt  will  win  a  piece. 
Therefore  he  must  play  B  — Kt  3,  either  before  or 
after  Kt  X  Kt,  with  disastrous  results  in  either  case, 
as  will  be  seen. 

11.  Ktx  Ktch  Qx  Kt 

12.  B  — Kt3  B  — Kt5 

13.  P-KR3  BxKt 

14.  Q  X  B  Q  X  Q 

15.  PxQ  P-KB3 


bA    vyy^^^^  ^^^^^^  ywSmrA    ^^S    ^/^ 


A  simple  examination  will  show  that  White  is  minus 
a  Bishop  for  all  practical  purposes.  He  can  only  free 
it  by  sacrificing  one  Pawn,  and  possibly  not  even 
then.  At  least  it  would  lose  time  besides  the  Pawn. 
Black  now  devotes  all  his  energy  to  the  Queen's  side, 
and,  having  practically  a  Bishop  more,  the  result 
cannot  be  in  doubt.  The  rest  of  the  game  is  given, 
so  that  the  student  may  see  how  simple  it  is  to  win 
such  a  game. 


THE  SCENE  OF  ACTION  99 

16.  K-Kt2  P-QR4 

17.  P— QR4  K  — B  2 

18.  R— R  I  K— K3 

19.  P-R4  KR-QKti 

There  is  no  necessity  to  pay  any  attention  to  the 
King's  side,  because  White  gains  nothing  by  exchang- 
ing PawTis  and  opening  the  King's  Rook  file. 

20.  PxP  RPxP 

21.  P-Kt3  P-B3 

22.  R-QR2  P-Kt4 

23.  KR-Ri  P-B  5 

If  White  takes  the  proffered  Pawn,  Black  regains  it 

immediately  by  R-  Kt  5,  after  P  X  B  P. 

24.  R  P  X  P  P  X  P  (Kt  6) 

25.  B  PxP  RxP 

26.  R  — R4  RxP 

27.  P  — Q4  R  — Kt4 

28.  R— B4  R— Kt5 

29.  R  X  B  P  RxP 
Resigns 

25.    A  PLAYER'S  MOTIVES   CRITICISED   IN  A 
SPECIMEN  GAME 

Now  that  a  few  of  my  games  with  my  o\\ti  notes 
have  been  given,  I  offer  for  close  perusal  and  study 
a  very  fine  game  played  by  Sir  George  Thomas,  one 
of  England's  foremost  players,  against  Mr.  F.  F.  L. 
Alexander,  in  the  championship  of  the  City  of  London 
Chess  Club  in  the  winter  of  1919-1920.     It  has  the 


100 


A  PLAYER'S   MOTIVES   CRITICISED 


interesting  feature  for  the  student  that  Sir  George 
Thomas  kindly  wrote  the  notes  to  the  game  for  me  at 
my  request,  and  with  the  understanding  that  I  would 
make  the  comments  on  them  that  I  considered  ap- 
propriate. Sir  George  Thomas'  notes  are  in  brackets 
and  thus  will  be  distinguished  from  my  own  comments. 

Example  55.  —  Queen's  Gambit  Declined.  {The 
notes  within  brackets  by  Sir  George  Thomas.)  White : 
Mr.  F.  F.  L.  Alexander.    Black :   Sir  George  Thomas. 


I. 

P-Q4 

P-Q4 

2. 

Kt-KB3 

Kt-KB3 

3- 

P-B4 

P-K3 

4- 

Kt-B3 

QKt-Q2 

5- 

B-Kt5 

P--B3 

6. 

P-K3 

Q-R4 

mm   ^^'^m  s^^rf'"'"'^!^  ^  i 


i 


^ 


w^m       mm  r^l 


(One  of  the  objects  of  Black's  method  of  defence  is 
to  attack  White's  Q  Kt  doubly  by  Kt  —  K  5,  followed 
by  P  X  P.    But  7  Kt  —  Q  2  is  probably  a  strong  way 


IN  A  SPECIMEN   GAME  loi 

of  meeting  this  threat.)  There  are,  besides,  two  good 
reasons  for  this  method  of  defence ;  first,  that  it  is 
not  as  much  played  as  some  of  the  other  defences 
and  consequently  not  so  well  known,  and  second  that 
it  leaves  Black  with  two  Bishops  against  B  and  Kt, 
which,  in  a  general  way,  constitutes  an  advantage. 

7.  B  X  Kt  Kt  X  B 

8.  P— QR3  Kt— K  5 

9.  Q— Kt  3  B-K  2 

This  is  not  the  logical  place  for  the  B  which  should 
have  been  posted  at  Q  3,  In  the  opening,  time  is  of 
great  importance,  and  therefore  the  player  should  be 
extremely  careful  in  his  development  and  make  sure 
that  he  posts  his  pieces  in  the  right  places. 

10.  B  —  Q  3  Kt  X  Kt 

11.  PX  Kt  Px  P 

12.  BxBP  B  — B3 

(I  did  not  want  White's  Kt  to  come  to  K  5,  from 
where  I  could  not  dislodge  it  by  P  —  K  B  3  without 
weakening  my  K  P.)  The  same  result  could  be  ac- 
complished by  playing  B  —  Q  3.  Incidentally  it  bears 
out  my  previous  statement  that  the  B  should  have 
been  originally  played  to  Q  3. 

13.   0^0 

The  alternative  was  P — K  4,  followed  by  P  — K  5, 
and  then  0  —  0.  WTiite  would  thereby  assume  the 
initiative  but  would  weaken  his  Pawn  position  con- 
siderably, and  might  be  compelled  to  stake  all  on  a 


102    A  PLAYER'S  MOTIVES   CRITICISED 

violent  attack  against  the  King.  This  is  a  turning 
point  in  the  game,  and  it  is  in  such  positions  that 
the  temperament  and  style  of  the  player  decide  the 
course  of  the  game. 

13 0-0 

14.   P— K4  P'-K4 


15.  P-Qs 

(White  might  play  15  K  R—  Q  i,  keeping  the  option 
of  breakmg  up  the  centre  later  on.  I  wanted  him 
to  advance  this  P  as  there  is  now  a  fine  post  for  my 
B  at  Q  B  4.)  By  this  move  White  shows  that  he  does 
not  understand  the  true  value  of  his  position.  His 
only  advantage  consisted  in  the  undeveloped  condition 
of  Black's  Q  B.  He  should  therefore  have  made  a 
plan  to  prevent  the  B  from  coming  out,  or  if  that 
were  not  possible,  then  he  should  try  to  force  Black 
to  weaken  his  Pawn  position  in  order  to  come  out  with 
the  B.    There  were  three  moves  to  consider:  first, 


IN  A  SPECIMEN  GAME  103 

P  —  Q  R  4,  in  order  to  maintain  the  White  B  in  the 
dominating  position  that  it  now  occupies.  This 
would  have  been  met  by  Q  —  B  2 ;  second,  either  of 
the  Rooks  to  Q  i  in  order  to  threaten  16  P  X  P,  B  X  P  ; 
17  Kt  X  B,  Q  X  Kt ;  18  B  X  P  ch.  This  would  have 
been  met  by  B  —  Kt  5 ;  and  third,  P  —  K  R  3  to  pre- 
vent B  —  Kt  5  and  by  playing  either  R  to  Q  i ,  followed 
up  as  previously  stated  to  force  Black  to  play 
P  —  Q  Kt  4,  which  would  weaken  his  Queen's  side 
Pawns.  Thus  by  playing  P  —  K  R  3  WTiite  would 
have  attained  the  desired  object.  The  text  move 
blocks  the  action  of  the  White  B  and  facihtates  Black's 
development.  Hereafter  WTiite  will  act  on  the  defen- 
sive, and  the  interest  throughout  the  rest  of  the  game 
will  centre  mainly  on  Black's  play  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  carries  out  the  attack. 

15 Q-B  2 

16.  B-Q3 

(This  seems  wrong,  as  it  makes  the  development  of 
Black's  Queen  wing  easier.  At  present  he  cannot 
play  P—  Q  Kt  3,  because  of  the  reply  P  X  P  followed 
by  B-Q  5-) 

16 P-QKt3 

17.  P  — B  4  B  — Kt  2 

18.  KR-B  I 

(With  the  idea  of  Q  R-  Kt  i  and  P-  B  5.  But  it 
only  compels  Black  to  bring  his  B  to  Q  B  4,  which  he 
would  do  in  any  case.) 


I04    A  PLAYER'S  MOTIVES   CRITICISED 

i8 B  — K  2 

19.  R  — E  2  B  — B  4 

20.  Q— Kt  2  P  — B  3 

(It  would  have  been  better,  probably,  to  play 
20.  .  . K  R  —  K  I,  with  the  idea  of  P  —  B  4  presently.) 
Black's  play  hereabout  is  weak ;  it  lacks  force,  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  well-defined  plan  of  attack.  It 
is  true  that  these  are  the  most  difficult  positions  to 
handle  in  a  game.  In  such  cases  a  player  must  conceive 
a  plan  on  a  large  scale,  which  promises  chances  of 
success,  and  with  it  all,  it  must  be  a  plan  that  can  be 
carried  out  with  the  means  at  his  disposal.  From 
the  look  of  the  position  it  seems  that  Black's  best 
chance  would  be  to  mass  his  forces  for  an  attack 
against  White's  centre,  to  be  followed  by  a  direct 
attack  against  the  King.  He  should,  therefore,  play 
Q  R—  K  I,  threatening  P—  K  B  4.  If  White  is  able 
to  defeat  this  plan,  or  rather  to  prevent  it,  then,  once 
he  has  fixed  some  of  the  White  pieces  on  the  King's 
side,  he  should  quickly  shift  his  attack  to  the  Queen's 
side,  and  open  a  Une  for  his  Rooks,  which,  once  they 
enter  in  action,  should  produce  an  advantage  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  power  of  the  two  Bishops. 

21.  QR— Kt  I         QR— Q  I 

22.  P  — QR4  B  — R3 

23.  R-Qi 

(White  has  clearly  lost  time  with  his  Rook's  moves.) 

23 KR-Ki 

24.  Q-Kt3 


IN  A  SPECIMEN   GAME  105 

(To  bring  his  Queen  across  after  Kt  —  R  4  and  B  —  K  2.) 
24 R-Q3 


25.  Kt  — R4 

26.  B  — K2 


P-Kt3 


Ai  i 


™    H  A 


i 


H  s  PP  '  ■ 


A  ^W  A  W  A  W       W^ 


26. 


PxP 


(I  thought  this  exchange  necessary  here,  as  WTiite 
is  threatening  to  play  his  Bishop  via  Kt  4  to  K  6. 
If  he  retook  with  the  Bishop's  Pawn  I  intended  to 
exchange  Bishops  and  rely  on  the  two  Pawns  to  one 
on  the  Queen's  wing.  I  did  not  expect  him  to  retake 
it  with  the  King's  Pawn,  which  seemed  to  expose 
him  to  a  violent  King's  side  attack.)  Black's  judg- 
ment in  this  instance  I  believe  to  be  faulty.  Had 
White  retaken  with  the  B  P,  as  he  expected,  he  would 
have  had  the  worst  of  the  Pawn  position,  as  WTiite 
would  have  had  a  passed  Pawn  well  supported  on  the 
Queen's  side.  His  only  advantage  would  lie  in  his 
having   a   very  well  posted  Bishop  against  a  badly 


io6    A  PLAYER'S  MOTIVES  CRITICISED 

posted  Knight,  and  on  the  fact  that  in  such  posi- 
tions as  the  above,  the  Bishop  is  invariably  stronger 
than  the  Knight.  He  could  and  should  have  pre- 
vented all  that,  by  playing  B  — B  i,  as,  had  White 
then  replied  with  Q— Kt  3,  he  could  then  play 
P  X  P,  and  Wliite  would  not  have  been  able  to  retake 
with  the  B  P  on  account  of  B  X  P  ch  winning  the 
exchange. 

27.  KPxP  P-Ks 

28.  P  — Kt3  P-K6 

I  do  not  like  this  move.  It  would  have  been  better 
to  hold  it  in  reserve  and  to  have  played  P  —  B  4,  to 
be  followed  m  due  time  by  P  —  K  Kt  4  and  P  —  B  5, 
after  having  placed  the  Q  at  Q  2,  K  B  2,  or  some  other 
square  as  the  occasion  demanded.  The  text  move 
blocks  the  action  of  the  powerful  B  at  Q  B  4,  and 
tends  to  make  White's  position  safer  than  it  should 
have  been.  The  move  in  itself  is  a  very  strong  attack- 
ing move,  but  it  is  isolated,  and  there  is  no  effective 
continuation.  Such  advances  as  a  rule  should  only 
be  made  when  they  can  be  followed  by  a  concerted 
action  of  the  pieces. 


29. 

P-B4 

B-B  I 

30- 

Kt-B3 

B-B4 

31- 

R— Kt  2 

R-K5 

32. 

K-Kt  2 

Q-B  I 

33- 

Kt-Kti 

P  -  K  Kt  4 

IN  A  SPECIMEN   GAME 


107 


(If  now  34  B-B  3,  PXP;  35  B  X  R,  BXB  ch, 
with  a  winning  attack.) 

34.  P  X  P  P  X  P 

35.  R-KBi  P-Kt5 

R  —  R  3  was  the  ahernative.  WTiite's  only  move 
would  have  been  K  —  R  i .  The  position  now  is  evi- 
dently won  for  Black,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of 
finding  the  right  course.  The  final  attack  is  now 
carried  on  by  Sir  George  Thomas  in  an  irreproachable 

manner. 

36.  B-Q3  R-KB3 

37.  Kt  — K  2  Q  — B  I 


i 


_     ^  ^'  '    it.    •/  /'^^ 


im 


m.. 


m 


i^ 


(Again  preventing  B  X  R,  by  the  masked  attack 
on  White's  Rook.  WTiite  therefore  protects  his  Rook.) 
If  Kt  —  B  4,  P  —  K  7  ! ;  39  Kt  X  P,  R  X  Kt  ch; 
40  R  X  R,  B  —  K  5  ch  ! ! ;  41  B  X  B,  best,  R  X  R  and 
White  is  lost.  If,  however,  against  38  Kt  —  B  4,  Black 
plays  Q—  R 3, and  WTiite  39  Q  —  B  2,1  take  pleasure 


io8    A  PLAYER'S  MOTIVES   CRITICISED 


in  offering  the  position  to  my  readers  as  a  most  beau- 
tiful and  extraordinary  win  for  Black,  beginning  with 
39. .  .Q—  R  6  ch ! ! !  I  leave  the  variations  for  the 
student  to  work  out. 

38.  R(Kt2)-Kt  I  Q-R3 

39.  Q-B2 

(Making  a  double  attack  on  the  Rook  — which  still 
cannot  be  taken— and  preparing  to  defend  the  K  R  P.) 
If  either  the  Rook  or  Bishop  are  taken  White  would 
be  mated  in  a  few  moves. 


39- 
40. 


K-R  I 


Q  — R6ch 
RXP!! 


1    ■    ■    ■  i 


"^ m"«™»^'» 


^1     m 


i. 


■  ®  ■       ■  i  i 


(If  40...R-R3;  41  Kt-Kt  I,  QxKtP;  42  Q  — 
K  Kt  2.  Black  therefore  tries  to  get  the  Queen  away 
from  the  defence.)  A  very  beautiful  m.ove,  and  the 
best  way  to  carry  on  the  attack. 

41.   QXR 


IN  A  SPECIMEN   GAME  109 

(The  best  defence  was  41  R  X  B,  but  Black  would 
emerge  with  Queen  against  Rook  and  Knight.) 

41 BxB 

(Again,  not  R  —  K  R  3  ;   because  of  P  —  Q  6  dis.  ch.) 

42.  Rx  R 

(If  42  Q  X  B,  then,  at  last,  R  — R  3  wins.) 

42 Bx  Q 

43.  Kt— B  4  P—  K  7! 


tM.    m 


:i 


W«4  ^  mm      ^m 


mm 


(The  Queen  has  no  escape,  but  \Miite  has  no  time 
to  take  it.) 

44.   R— KKt  I  Q— B  8 

WTiite  resigns.    A  very  fine  finish. 


CHAPTER  V 
End-Game  Strategy 

We  must  now  revert  once  more  to  the  endings.  Their 
importance  will  have  become  evident  to  the  student 
who  has  taken  the  trouble  to  study  my  game  with 
Janowski  (Example  53).    After  an  uneventful  opening 

—  a  Ruy  Lopez  —  in  one  of  its  normal  variations, 
my  opponent  suddenly  made  things  interesting  by 
offering  the  exchange;  an  offer  which,  of  course,  I 
accepted.  Then  followed  a  very  hard,  arduous  struggle, 
in  which  I  had  to  defend  myself  against  a  very  danger- 
ous attack  made  possible  by  the  excellent  manoeu- 
vring of  my  adversary.  Finally,  there  came  the  time 
when  I  could  give  back  the  material  and  change  off 
most  of  the  pieces,  and  come  to  an  ending  in  which 
I  clearly  had  the  advantage.  But  yet  the  ending 
itself  was  not  as  simple  as  it  at  first  appeared,  and 
finally  —  perhaps  through  one  weak  move  on  my  part 

—  it  became  a  very  difficult  matter  to  fmd  a  win. 
Had  I  been  a  weak  end-game  player  the  game  would 
probably  have  ended  in  a  draw,  and  all  my  previous 
efforts  would  have  been  in  vain.  Unfortunately,  that 
is  very  often  the  case  among  the  large  majority  of 
players ;  they  are  weak  in  the  endings ;  a  failing  from 
which  masters  of  the  first  rank  are  at  times  not  free. 


END-GAME  STRATEGY 


III 


Incidentally,  I  might  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
all  the  world's  champions  of  the  last  sixty  years  have 
been  exceedingly  strong  in  the  endings :  JNIorphy, 
Steinitz,  and  Dr.  Lasker  had  no  superiors  in  this 
department  of  the  game  while  they  held  their  titles. 

26.    THE  SUDDEN  ATTACK  FROM  A 
DIFFERENT  SIDE 

I  have  pre\iously  stated,  when  speaking  about 
general  theory,  that  at  times  the  way  to  win  consists 
in  attacking  first  on  one  side,  then,  granted  greater 
mobility  of  the  pieces,  to  transfer  the  attack  quickly 
from  one  side  to  the  other,  breaking  through  before 
your  opponent  has  been  able  to  bring  up  sufficient 
forces  to  withstand  the  attack.  This  principle  of  the 
middle-game  can  sometimes  be  applied  in  the  endings 
in  somewhat  similar  manner. 

Example  56. 


112  THE  SUDDEN  ATTACK 

In  the  above  position  I,  with  the  Black  pieces, 

played : 

I R— K  5  ch 

2.  R— K2  R— QRs 

3.  R— R2  P-KR4 

The  idea,  as  will  be  seen  very  soon,  is  to  play  P  —  R  5 
in  order  to  fix  White's  King's  side  Pawns  with  a  view 
to  the  future.  It  is  evident  to  Black  that  White 
wants  to  brmg  his  King  to  Q  Kt  3  to  support  his 
two  weak  isolated  Pawns,  and  thus  to  free  his  Rooks. 
Black,  therefore,  makes  a  plan  to  shift  the  attack  to 
the  King's  side  at  the  proper  time,  in  order  to  obtain 
some  advantage  from  the  greater  mobihty  of  his 
Rooks. 

4.  R-Qi  R(Q4)-QR4 

in  order  to  force  the  Rook  to  Rook's  square,  keeping 
both  Rooks  tied  up. 

5.  R(Qi)-Ri  P-R5 

6.  K— Q  2  K— Kt  2 

7.  K— B  2  R— KKt4 

Black  begins  to  transfer  his  attack  to  the  King's  side. 

8.  R— KKt  I 

A  serious  mistake,  which  loses  quickly.  White  should 
have  played  8  K  — Kt  3,  when  Black  would  have 
answered  8. .  .R  (R  5)  —  R  4 ;  9  P  —  B  3,  and  Black 
would  have  obtained  an  opening  at  K  Kt  6  for  his 
King,  which  in  the  end  might  give  him  the  victory. 

8 R-KB5 


FROM  A  DIFFERENT   SIDE  113 

Now  the  King  cannot  go  to  Kt  3,  because  of  R  — 
Kt  4  ch. 

9.   K— Q3  R  — B  6ch 

10.   K —  K  2 
If  P  X  R,  R  X  R ;    followed  by  R—  K  R  8  winning, 

10 R  X  R  P 

and  Black  won  after  a  few  moves. 


Example  57.  —  Another  good  example,  in  which 
is  shown  the  advantage  of  the  greater  mobiUty  of 
the  pieces  in  an  ending,  is  the  following  from  a  game 
Capablanca-Kupchick  played  at  the  Havana  Masters 
Tournament,  1913.  The  full  score  and  notes  of  the 
game  can  be  found  in  the  book  of  the  tournament. 


Ml.   '  Mt         M.  '     M.     ^^^     M. 


■  if 


m 


m 


k 


White's  only  advantage  in  the  above  position  is  that 
he  possesses  the  open  file  and  has  the  move,  which 
will  secure  him  the  initiative.  There  is  also  the  shght 
advantage  of  having  his  Pawns  on  the  Queen's  side 
united,  while  Black  has  an  isolated  Q  R  P.      The 


114  THE  SUDDEN  ATTACK 

proper  course,  as  in  the  previous  ending,  is  to  bring 
the  Rooks  forward,  so  that  at  least  one  of  them  may 
be  able  to  shift  from  one  side  of  the  board  to  the 
other,  and  thus  keep  Black's  Rooks  from  moving 
freely.  What  this  means  in  general  theory  has  been 
stated  already ;  it  really  means :  keep  harassing  the 
enemy;  force  him  to  use  his  big  pieces  to  defend  Paums. 
If  he  has  a  weak  point,  try  to  make  it  weaker,  or  create 
another  weakness  somewhere  else  and  his  positioti  will 
collapse  sooner  or  later.  If  he  has  a  weakness,  and  he 
can  get  rid  of  it,  make  sure  that  you  create  another  weak- 
ness somewhere  else. 

From  the  position  in  question  the  game   continued 
thus : 

1.  R-K4  KR-Ki 

with  the  object  of  repeating  White's  manoeuvre,  and 
also  not  to  allow  White  the  control  of  the  open  file,, 

2.  QR-K  I       R-K3 

3.  QR-K3       R(Bi)-Ki 

4.  K-B  I  K-B  I 

Black  wants  to  bring  his  King  to  the  centre  of  the 
board  in  order  to  be  nearer  to  whatever  point  White 
decides  to  attack.  The  move  is  justified  at  least  on 
the  general  rule  that  in  such  endings  the  King  should 
be  in  the  middle  of  the  board.  He  does  nothing  after 
all  but  follow  White's  footsteps.  Besides,  it  is  hard 
to  point  out  anything  better.  If4...P  —  Q4;  5R  — 
Kt  4  ch,  followed  by  K  — K  2,  would  leave  Black  in 
a  very  disagreeable  position.  If4...P  —  KB4;  5R  — 


FROM  A  DIFFERENT  SIDE  115 

Q4!  Rx  R?  6PxR,RxP;    7K-B2,R-K2; 

8  R  —  Q  R  4,  winning  the  Q  R  P,  which  would  prac- 
tically leave  White  with  a  passed  Pawn  ahead  on  the 
Queen's  side,  as  the  three  Pawns  of  Black  on  the 
King's  side  would  be  held  by  the  two  of  White. 

5.  K  — K  2  K  — K  2 

6.  R-QR4  R-QR  I 

The  student  should  note  that  through  the  same  ma- 
noeuvre Black  is  forced  into  a  position  similar  to  the 
one  shown  in  the  previous  ending. 

7.  R-R5! 

This  move  has  a  manifold  object.  It  practically  fixes 
all  of  Black's  Pawns  except  the  Q  P,  which  is  the  only 
one  that  can  advance  two  squares.  It  specially  pre- 
vents the  advance  of  Black's  K  B  Pawns,  and  at  the 
same  time  threatens  the  advance  of  White's  K  B 
l^awns  to  B  4  and  B  5.  By  this  threat  it  practically 
forces  Black  to  play  P  —  Q  4,  which  is  all  White  desires, 
for  reasons  that  will  soon  become  evident. 

7 P-Q4 

8.  P-QB4!  K-Q3 

Evidently  forced,  as  the  only  other  move  to  save  a 
Pawn  would  have  been  P  X  P,  which  would  have  left 
all  Black's  Pawns  isolated  and  weak.    If  8 ...  P  —  Q  5  ; 

9  R-K  4,  K-Q  3;  10  P-Q  Kt  4!  R-K  4; 
1 1  R  —  R  6,  and  Black's  game  is  hopeless. 

9.   P-B  5ch  K-Q  2 

10.   P-Q4  P-B4 


Ii6 


THE  SUDDEN  ATTACK 


Apparently  very  strong,  since  it  forces  the  exchange 
of  Rooks  because  of  the  threat  R  —  R  3  ;  but  in  reaUty 
it  leads  to  nothing.     The  best  chance  was  to  play 

R-K  K  I. 

11.  RxR  PxR 

12.  P-B4 

Up  to  now  White  had  played  with  finesse,  but  this 

last  move  is  weak.    R— R  6  was  the  proper  way  to 

contmue,  so  as  to  force  Black  to  give  up  his  Q  R  P 

or  Q  B  P. 

12 K-B  I 

13.  K-Q2 

Agam  a  bad  move.  13  R  — R  3  was  the  proper  con- 
tinuation, and  if  then  13. .  .R-Kt  i ;  14  P  — Kt  3, 
K-Kt2;  15  P-Kt  4,  K-R  i;  i6R-QKt3, 
with  excellent  winning  chances;  in  fact,  I  beheve,  a 
won  game.  


w  w  'W  %^ 


13 K-Kt2 

Black  misses  his  only  chance.    R  -  Kt  i  would  have 
drawn. 


FROM  A  DIFFERENT  SIDE  117 

14.  R-R3  R-KKt  I 

15.  R-R3  R-Kt  2 

16.  K-K2  K-R3 

17.  R-R6  R-K  2 

18.  K-Q  3  K-Kt  2 

He  goes  back  with  the  King  to  support  his  K  P,  and 
thus  be  able  to  utiHse  his  Rook.  It  is,  however,  use- 
less, and  only  White's  weak  play  later  on  gives  him 
further  chances  of  a  draw. 

19.  P-KR4         K-Bi 

20.  R-R  5 

To  prevent  the  Black  Rook  from  controlling  the  open 
file 

20 K  —  Q  2 

21.  R-Kt  5  R-B  2 

22.  K-B  3  K-B  I 

He  must  keep  his  King  on  that  side  because  WTiite 
threatens  to  march  with  his  King  to  R  6  via  Kt  4. 


23. 

K-Kt  4 

R-B3 

24. 

K-R5 

K-Kt  2 

25- 

P-R4 

P-QR3 

26. 

P-R5 

R-R3 

He  can  do  nothing  but  wait  for  \Miite.  The  text 
move  stops  White  from  mo\'ing  his  Rook,  but  only 
for  one  move. 

27.   P-Kt  4  R-B  3 

The  only  other  move  was  K  —  R  2 ;  when  WTiite 
rould  play  R-Kt  7,  or  even  P  — Kt  5. 


ii8 


THE   SUDDEN  ATTACK 


?;.; 


WM 


""f^i  (Bis.il  ■  fc    « 


1^      -f  ^  ft  ^  ft  ^  A 

s  M    M    m    ■ 

g55%5???  g^%??  ^g;^^  ^^^ 


^^    » 


28.  P  -  Kt  5 

A  weak  move,  which  gives  Black  a  fighting  chance. 
In  this  ending,  as  is  often  the  case  with  most  players, 
White  plays  the  best  moves  whenever  the  situation 
is  difficult  and  requires  careful  handling,  but  once 
his  position  seems  to  be  overwhelming  he  relaxes  his 
efforts  and  the  result  is  nothing  to  be  proud  of.  The 
right  move  was  28  R— Kt  7. 

RPxP 

PxP  R-Bi! 

R-Kty  R-Rich 

K-Kt4  PxP 

KxP  R-R7 

P-B6ch        K-Kti 

RxRP  R-Kt7ch 

K-R5  R-R7ch 

K-Kt4  RXP 

Black  misses  his  last  chance:    R-Kt  7  ch,  forcing 

the  King  to  B   3,  m  order  to  avoid  the  perpetual, 


28. 
29. 

30- 
31- 
32. 
33- 
34- 
35- 
36. 


FROM  A  DIFFERENT  SIDE  119 

would  probably  draw.  The  reader  must  bear  in  mind 
that  my  opponent  was  then  a  very  young  and  inex- 
perienced player,  and  consequently  deserves  a  great 
deal  of  credit  for  the  fight  he  put  up. 

37.  R-K7  RxP 

R— Kt  7  ch;  followed  by  R-K  R  7,  offered  better 
chances. 


38. 

P-R6! 

RX  Pch 

39- 

K-Kt5 

R-Q8 

40. 

P-R7 

R-KtSch 

41. 

K-B5 

R-B  8ch 

42. 

K-Q4 

R-Q8ch 

43- 

K-K5 

R-K8ch 

44. 

K-B6 

R-KR8 

45- 

R-K8ch 

K-R2 

46. 

P-R8  (Q) 

RxQ 

47. 

RxR 

K-Kt3 

48. 

KxP 

KxP 

49. 

KxP 

K-B4 

50- 

K-K5 

Resigns. 

This  ending  shows  how  easy  it  is  to  make  weak  moves, 
and  how  often,  even  in  master-play,  mistakes  are 
made  and  opportunities  are  lost.  It  shows  that,  so 
long  as  there  is  no  great  advantage  of  material,  even 
with  a  good  position,  a  player,  no  matter  how  strong, 
cannot  afford  to  relax  his  attention  even  for  one 
move. 


120 


THE  DANGER  OF 


27.    THE  DANGER  OF  A  SAFE  POSITION 

Example  58.  —  A  good  proof  of  the  previous  state- 
ment is  shown  in  the  following  ending  between  Mar- 
shall and  Kupchick  in  one  of  their  two  games  in  the 
same  Tournament  (Havana,  1913). 


■7^^^y//>  ^^/yz^  ^^^^^^     0     ^^^^^  ffin 


g_l^l_ 


m^^,  ;^..^    wM^^    ^^ 

WW^/       w^       ^^       ^^-  « 


It  is  evident  that  Marshall  (White)  is  under  great 
difficulties  in  the  above  position.  Not  only  is  he 
bound  to  lose  a  Pawn,  but  his  position  is  rather  poor. 
The  best  he  could  hope  for  was  a  draw  unless  some- 
thing altogether  unexpected  happened,  as  it  did.  No 
reason  can  be  given  for  Black's  loss  of  the  game  except 
that  he  felt  so  certain  of  having  the  best  of  it  with  a 
Pawn  more  and  what  he  considered  a  safe  position, 
that  he  became  exceedingly  careless  and  did  not  con- 
sider the  danger  that  actually  existed.  Let  us  see 
how  it  happened. 


I.  P-Kt4 


RXRP 


A  SAFE  POSITION  i2i 

The  mistakes  begin.  This  is  the  first.  Black  sees 
that  he  can  take  a  Pawn  without  any  danger,  and 
does  not  stop  to  think  whether  there  is  anything 
better.  R  — B  7  ch  was  the  right  move.  If  then 
K-Kt  3,  R  X  P.  If  instead  White  played  K-  K  4, 
then  R  -  K  4  ch  followed  by  R  X  R  P. 

2.  R-Q  I  R-R  5  ch 

Mistake  number  two,  and  this  time  such  a  serious 
one  as  to  almost  lose  the  game.  The  proper  move 
was  to  play  P  — B  4  in  order  to  break  up  White's 
Pawns  and  at  the  same  time  make  room  for  the  Black 
King,  which  is  actually  in  danger,  as  will  soon  be  seen. 

3.  R-Q4  R(R5)-R4 
Mistake  number  three  and  this  time  fatal.  His  best 
move  was  R  (Kt  4)  —  R  4.  After  the  text  move  there 
is  no  defence.  Black's  game  is  lost.  This  shows  that 
even  an  apparently  simple  ending  has  to  be  played 
with  care.  From  a  practically  won  position  Black 
finds  himself  with  a  lost  game,  and  it  has  only  taken 
three  moves. 

4.  R  (Q  4)  -  Q  8      R  -  Kt  2 

If4...P-B4;  5R-R8ch,K-Kt3;  6  R  (B  8) - 
Kt  8  ch,  K  -  B  3  ;  7  R  X  P  ch,  R  -  Kt  3  ;  8  P  -  Kt  5  ch, 
K-K  2;  9  R  (R  6)  X  R,  Px  R;  10  R-Kt  7  ch, 
K— Ki;    iiRxKtP,  and  wins  easily. 

5.  P-R4  P-R4 

6.  R  -  R  8  ch      Resigns. 

The  reason  is  evident.    If  6 . . .  K  —  Kt  3  ;   7  P  x  P  ch, 


122 


ENDINGS  WITH  ONE 


RxP;  8RxR,  KxR;  9  R-R  8  ch,  K-Kt  3; 
10  P  — R  5  mate. 


28.    ENDINGS  WITH  ONE  ROOK  AND  PAWNS 

The  reader  has  probably  reaUsed  by  this  time  that 
endings  of  two  Rooks  and  Pawns  are  very  difficult, 
and  that  the  same  holds  true  for  endings  of  one  Rook 
and  Pawns.  Endings  of  two  Rooks  and  Pawns  are 
not  very  common  in  actual  play ;  but  endings  of  one 
Rook  and  Pawns  are  about  the  most  common  sort 
of  endings  arising  on  the  chess  board.  Yet  though 
they  do  occur  so  often,  few  have  mastered  them  thor- 
oughly. They  are  often  of  a  very  difficult  nature,  and 
sometimes  while  apparently  very  simple  they  are  in 
reality  extremely  intricate.  Here  is  an  example  from 
a  game  between  Marshall  and  Rosenthal  in  the  Man- 
hattan Chess  Club  Championship  Tournament  of 
1909-1910. 

Example  59. 


ROOK  AND  PAWNS  123 

In  this  position  Marshall  had  a  simple  wm  by 
R  — B  7  ch,  but  played  P  — B  6,  and  thereby  gave 
Black  a  chance  to  draw.  Luckily  for  him  Black  did 
not  see  the  drawing  move,  played  poorly,  and  lost. 
Had  Black  been  up  to  the  situation  he  would  have 
drawn  by  playing  R— Q  3. 

I.  P-B6  R-Q3I 

Now  White  has  two  continuations,  either  (a)  P  —  B  7, 
or  {b)  R  —  B  7  ch.    We  have  therefore  : 

(a)  2.  P-B  7  R-Qi! 

3.   R-R5ch        K-B5 

and  White  will  finally  have  to  sacrifice  the  Rook  for 
Black's  Pawn.     Or  — 

(6)  2.  R-B  7ch       K-Q5! 

3.  P  — B  7  R—  Kt3  ch! 

a  very  important  move,  as  against  R  —  KB3,R— K7 
wins. 

4.  K-B  I  R-KB3 

5.  R-Kt  7  K-B  6 

and  White  will  finally  have  to  sacrifice  the  Rook 
for  the  Pawn,  or  draw  by  perpetual  check. 

If  there  were  nothing  more  in  the  ending  it  would 
not  be  of  any  great  value,  but  there  are  other 
very  interesting  features.  Now  suppose  that  after 
1P-B6,  R-Q3;  2P-B7,  Black  did  not 
realise  that  R  —  Q  i  was  the   only  move   to   draw. 


124  ENDINGS  WITH  ONE 

We  would  then  have  the  following  position : 


Now  there  would  be  two  other  moves  to  try :  either 
(a)  R-Kt  3  ch,  or  (6)  R-K  B  3.    Let  us  examine 

them. 

(a)  I.    ...:....  R-Kt3ch 

2.  K-B3  R-B3ch 

3.  K-K3  R-K3ch 

If  P_Kt  6;  R  — R  5  ch  wins,  because  if  the  King 
goes  back,  then  R  —  R  6,  and  if  the  Kmg  goes  up,  then 
R  —  R  4  ch,  followed  by  R  —  K  B  4  wins. 

4.  K-Q3  R-KB3 
If  R-Q  3  ch;    K-K  4  wins. 

5.  R  —  R  5  ch        K  moves 

6.  R  —  R  6  wins 

W  I R-B3 

2.   R-Kt  7!         K-B  5 
If  P  -  Kt  6 ;  R  -  Kt  3,  and  White  will  either  capture 
the  Pawn  or  go  to  K  B  3,  and  come  out  with  a  winning 
ending. 


ROOK  AND  PAWNS  125 

3.  P-R4  P-Kt6 

4.  R  —  Kt  4  ch      K  moves 
5-   R-Kt3 

and  White  will  either  capture  the  PawTi  or  play  R  — 
K  B  3,  according  to  the  circumstances,  and  come  out 
with  a  winning  ending. 

Now,  going  back  to  the  position  shown  on  page  122, 
suppose  that  after  iP  —  B6,  R  —  Q3;  2R  —  Bych, 
Black  did  not  realise  that  K  —  Q  5  was  the  only  move 
to  draw,  and  consequently  played  K  —  Kt  3  instead, 
we  would  then  have  the  following  position : 


Now  the  best  continuation  would  be : 

1.P-B7  R-Kt3ch  (best) 

2.  K-B  I  R-KB  3       ' 

3.  R-K  7!  K-B  4  (best) 

White  threatened  to  check  with  the  Rook  at  K  6. 

4.  K-K2  P-Kt6 


126 


ENDINGS  WITH  ONE 


Best.  If  K-B  5;  both  P-R  4  and  K-K  3  will 
win ;  the  last-named  move  particularly  would  win 
with  ease. 


5-  R-K3 

6.  R-QKt3 

7.  RxP 

8.  R-Q2 

9.  K-K3 


P-Kt  7  (best) 
RxP 
R-KR2 
RxP 


^„„,„„^^„ ^^'...,....0 ' 


m 


^.„...,.„^^.. 


m.    ^^^    ^ —  '^" 


i^    ^, .    ^^    ^^^,, 


,  This  position  we  have  arrived  at  is  won  by  White, 
because  there  are  two  files  between  the  opposing 
King  and  the  Pawn  from  which  the  King  is  cut  off 
by  the  Rook,  and  besides,  the  Pawn  can  advance  to 
the  fourth  rank  before  the  opponent's  Rook  can  begin 
to  check  on  the  file.  This  last  condition  is  very  im- 
portant, because  if,  instead  of  the  position  on  the 
diagram,  the  Black  Rook  were  at  K  R  i,  and  Black 
had  the  move,  he  could  draw  by  preventing  the  ad- 


ROOK  AND   PAWNS  127 

vance  of  the  Pawn,  either  through  constant  checks 
or  by  playmg  R  —  K  B  i  at  the  proper  time. 

Now  that  we  have  explained  the  reasons  why  this 
position  is  won,  we  leave  it  to  the  student  to  work 
out  the  correct  solution. 

The  fact  that  out  of  one  apparently  simple  ending 
we  have  been  able  to  work  out  several  most  unusual 
and  difficult  endings  should  be  sufficient  to  impress 
upon  the  student's  mind  the  necessity  of  becoming 
well  acquainted  with  all  kinds  of  endings,  and  espe- 
cially with  endings  of  Rook  and  Pawns. 

29.    A  DIFFICULT  ENDING:  TWO 
ROOKS  AND  PAWNS 

Following  our  idea  that  the  best  way  to  learn  end- 
ings as  well  as  openings  is  to  study  the  games  of  the 
masters,  w^e  give  two  more  endings  of  two  Rooks  and 
Pawns.  These  endings,  as  already  stated,  are  not 
very  common,  and  the  author  is  fortunate  in  ha\ing 
himself  played  more  of  these  endings  than  is  generally 
the  case.  By  carefully  comparing  and  stud>ing  the 
endings  already  given  (Examples  56  and  57)  \\ath 
the  following,  the  student  no  doubt  can  obtain  an  idea 
of  the  proper  method  to  be  followed  in  such  cases. 
The  way  of  procedure  is  somewhat  similar  in  all  of 
them. 

Example  60.  —  From  a  game,  Capablanca-Kreym- 
borg,  in  the  New  York  State  Championship  Tourna- 
ment of  I 9 10. 


128 


A  DIFFICULT  ENDING: 


m 


m^^m^^m. 


It  is  Black's  move,  and  no  doubt  thinking  that 
drawing  such  a  position  (that  was  all  Black  played 
for)  would  be  easy,  he  contented  himself  with  a  waiting 
policy.  Such  conduct  must  always  be  criticised.  It 
often  leads  to  disaster.  The  best  way  to  defend  such 
positions  is  to  assume  the  initiative  and  keep  the  opponent 
on  the  defensive. 

I QR-Ki 

The  first  move  is  already  wrong.  There  is  nothing 
to  gain  by  this  move.  Black  should  play  P  —  Q  R  4 ; 
to  be  followed  by  P  — Q  R  5;  unless  White  plays 
P  -  Q  Kt  3.  That  would  fix  the  Queen's  side.  After 
that  he  could  decide  what  demonstration  he  could 
make  with  his  Rooks  to  keep  the  opponent's  Rooks 
at  bay. 

2.   R-Q4 

This  move  not  only  prevents  P  — B  5  which  Black 
intended,    but    threatens   P  — Kt   3,    followed,    after 


TWO  ROOKS  AND   PAWNS  129 

P  X  P  ch,  by  the  attack  with  one  or  both  Rooks 
against  Black's  Q  R  P. 

2 R-B3 

probably  with  the  idea  of  a  demonstration  on  the 
King's  side  by  R-Kt  3  and  Kt  7. 

3.  P  -  Kt  3  P  X  P  ch 

4.  PXP  K-B  2 

5.  K-Q3 

R  —  Q  R  I  should  have  been  played  now,  in  order  to 
force  Black  to  defend  with  R  —  K  2.  WTiite,  however, 
does  not  want  to  disclose  his  plan  at  once,  and  thus 
awaken  Black  to  the  danger  of  his  position,  hence 
this  move,  which  seems  to  aim  at  the  disruption  of 
Black's   Queen's  side  PawTis. 

5 R-K2 

6.  R-QR  I  K-K,3 

This  is  a  mistake.  Black  is  unaware  of  the  danger  of 
his  position.  He  should  have  played  P  —  Kt  4 ;  threat- 
ening R  — R  3,  and,  by  making  this  demonstration 
against  WTiite's  K  R  P,  stop  the  attack  against  his 
Queen's  side  PawTis,  w^hich  will  now  develop. 

7.  R-R6  R-QB  2 

He  could  not  play  K  —  Q  3,  because  P  —  Q  B  4  would 
win  at  least  a  Pawn.  This  in  itself  condemns  his  last 
move  K—  K  3,  which  has  done  nothing  but  make  his 
situation  practically  hopeless. 

8.   R  (Q4)-QR4  P-KKt4 
Now  forced,  but  it  is  a  little  too  late.    He  could  not 
play  8. .  .K  R  —  B  2,  because  P  —  K  B  4  would  have 


I30 


A   DIFFICULT   ENDING: 


left  his  game  completely  paralysed.  Black  now  finally 
awakens  to  the  danger,  and  tries  to  save  the  day  by 
the  counter-demonstration  on  the  King's  side,  which 
he  should  have  started  before.  Of  course,  White 
cannot  play  R  X  R  P,  because  of  R  X  R,  followed 
by  R  — R  3,  recovering  the  Pawn  with  advantage. 

9.   P-KR4!  P-Kt  5 

Black  is  now  in  a  very  disagreeable  position.  If  he 
played  9...PXP;  loRxP  would  leave  him  in  a 
very  awkward  situation,  as  he  could  not  go  back 
with  the  King,  nor  could  he  do  much  with  either 
Rook.  He  practically  would  have  to  play  10. . . P  — 
K  R  3,  when  White  would  answer  11  P  —  Kt  4,  threat- 
ening to  win  a  Pawn  by  P  — Kt  5,  or,  if  that  were 
not  enough,  he  might  play  K  —  Q  4,  to  be  followed 
finally  by  the  entry  of  the  King  at  B  5  or  K  5. 

10.   K  — K  2 


■ 


i 


,.J^^^ ,,  „ ,  ^^j^     ^m.,^     mmi, 


^ 


ILl 


TWO  ROOKS   AND   PAWNS  131 

10 P  X  P  ch 

Again  he  cannot  play  P  —  K  R  4,  because  P  —  K  B  4 
would  leave  him  paralysed.  The  advance  of  his  K  R  P 
would  make  WTiite's  K  R  P  safe,  and  consequently 
his  K  R  would  ^  have  to  retire  to  K  B  2  to  defend  the 
Q  R  P.  That  would  make  it  impossible  for  his  King 
to  go  to  Q  2,  because  of  the  Q  R  P,  nor  could  he  advance 
a  single  one  of  his  Pawns.  On  the  other  hand,  WTiite 
would  play  P  —  Kt  4,  threatening  to  win  a  Pawn  by 
P  — Kt  5,  or  he  might  first  play  K— Q  4,  and  then 
at  the  proper  time  P  —  Kt  5,  if  there  was  nothing  better. 
Black  meanwhile  could  really  do  nothing  but  mark 
time  with  one  of  his  Rooks.  Compare  this  botthng- 
up  system  with  the  ending  in  Example  57,  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  it  is  very  similar. 

11.  KxP  R  (B  3)-B  2 

12.  K  —  K  2 

Probably  wrong.  P  —  Kt  4  at  once  was  the  right 
move.     The  text  move  gives  Black  good  chances  of 

drawing. 

12 K-Q3 

13.  P-Kt4        R-QKt  2 

This  could  never  have  happened  had  White  played 
12  P  — Kt  4,  as  he  could  have  followed  it  up  by 
P-Kt  5  after  Black's  K-Q  3. 

14.  P-R5 

Not  good.  P  — K  B  4  offered  the  best  chances  of 
winning  by  force.     If  then  14...R— Kt2;    15  P-^ 


132 


A   DIFFICULT   ENDING; 


R5,  R-Ktych;  16  K- Q  3,  R-K  R  7  ;  lyRxP, 
RxR;  iSRxR,  RxP;  19R-R6,  with  winning 
chances. 


I 


mm'-   -    25r^"5 


i 


i 


m  *  1^     ^ 


1 


^       M       M       M 


« 


14. 


P-R3 


Black  misses  his  last  chance.  P  —  B  5  would  draw. 
If  then  15  P  XP,  R  (Kt  2)  — K  2  ch! ;  16K-B  i, 
RxP;    17  RxP,  R-K  6! 


15.  P-KB4 

16.  K-Q3 

17.  R-R  I 

18.  K-Q4 

19.  R  (R  6)  -  R  2 


R-Kt  2 
R  (K  Kt  2)  -  K  2 
R-Kt  2 
R-Kt  7 

R  (Kt  2)  -  Kt  2 


R  (Kt  7)  —  Kt  2  would  have  offered  greater  resistance, 
but  the  position  is  lost  in  any  case.  (I  leave  the  stu- 
dent to  work  this  out.) 


20.  K-O3! 

21.  RxR 


RxR 
R-K2 


TWO  ROOKS  AND   PAWNS 


^33 


Nothing  would  avail.  If2i...R-Kt8;22R-R6! 
R-Q  8  ch;  27,  K-B  2,  R-K  R  8;  24  P-Kt  5, 
RxP;  25  RxP  ch,  K-Q  2;  26  R-Q  R  6,  and 
White  will  win  easily. 

22.   R-K  Kt  2  R-K3 


23.   R-Kt7 

R-K2 

24.   R-Kt  8 

P-B  4 

Black  is  desperate.    He  sees 

he 

can  no  longer  defend 

his  Pawns. 

25.   R—  Kt  6  ch 

R-K3 

26.   P  X  P  ch 

K-Q2 

27.   R-Kt  7  ch 

K-B3 

2S.   RxP 

KxP 

29.  R-KB  7 

Resigns. 

Example  61.  —  From  the  game  Capablanca-Janow- 
ski,  New  York  National  Tournament  of  1913. 


^M" 


^^  .  ^m      mm 


ft  W^.  ft  ^P      Wm      ^m 


1 


:,.,^..,  M^,"^ 


^■^H    ■&■ 


■f^A 


Black's  game  has  the  disadvantage  of  his  double 
Q  B   P,  which,  to  make  matters  worse,  he  cannot 


134  A  DIFFICULT  ENDING: 

advance,  because  as  soon  as  Black  plays  P  —  Q  Kt  3, 
WTiite  replies  P  — Q  Kt  4.  It  is  on  this  fact  that 
White  builds  his  plans.  He  will  stop  Black's  Queen's 
side  Pawns  from  advancing,  and  will  then  bring  his 
own  King  to  K  3.  Then  in  due  time  he  will  play 
P-Q  4,  and  finaUy  P-K  5,  or  P-K  Kt  5,  thus 
forcing  an  exchange  of  Pawns  and  obtaining  in  that 
way  a  clear  passed  Pawn  on  the  King's  file.  It  will 
be  seen  that  this  plan  was  carried  out  during  the  course 
of  the  game,  and  that  White  obtained  his  winning 
advantage  m  that  way.  The  play  was  based  through- 
out  on  the  chance  of  obtaining  a  passed  Pawn  on  the 
King's  file,  with  which  White  expected  to  win. 

1.  P-KKt4 

already  preparing  to  play  P  -  K  Kt  5  when  the  time 

comes. 

I P-QKt3 

Black  wants  to  play  P  -  Q  B  4,  but  White,  of  course, 
prevents  it. 

2.  P-Kt4!  K-Kt2 

This  King  should  come  to  the  King's  side,  where  the 
danger  lurks. 

3.  K-B  2  P-QKt4 

With  the  object  of  playing  K-Kt  3  and  P-Q  R  4, 
followed  by  P  X  P,  and  thus  have  an  open  file  for 
his  Rook  and  be  able  to  make  a  counter-demonstration 


TWO  ROOKS  AND  PAWNS  135 

on  the  Queen's  side  in  order  to  stop  White's  advance 
on  the  right.     White,  however,  also  prevents  this. 

4.  P-QR4I      R-Q5 

Of  course  if  P  X  P ;  Black  will  have  all  his  Pawns  on 
the  Queen's  side  disrupted  and  isolated,  and  WTiite 
can  easily  regain  the  lost  Pawn  by  playing  either 
Rook  on  the  Q  R  file. 

5.  R  — Q  Kt  I    R— K4 

He  still  wants  to  play  P  —  Q  B  4,  but  as  it  is  easy 
to  foresee  that  White  will  again  prevent  it,  the  text 
move  is  really  a  serious  loss  of  time.  Black  should 
bring  his  King  over  to  the  other  side  immediately. 

6.  K-K3  R-Q2 

7.  P-R5 

The  first  part  of  White's  strategic  plan  is  now  accom- 
phshed.  Black's  Pawns  on  the  Queen's  side  are  fixed 
for  all  practical  purposes. 

7 R-K3 

If  R  X  R ;  Kt  P  X  R  would  have  gi\'en  WTiite  a  very 
powerful  centre.  Yet  it  might  have  been  the  best 
chance  for  Black. 

8.  R  (Kt)  -KBi  R(Q2)-K2 

9.  P-Kt  5  PxP 
10.  RxP 


i.s6 


A  DIFFICULT  ENDING: 


The  second  part  of  White's  strategical  plan  is  now 
accomplished.  It  remains  to  find  out  if  the  advantage 
obtained  is  sufficient  to  win.  White  not  only  has  a 
passed  Pawn,  but  his  King  is  m  a  commanding  position 
in  the  centre  of  the  board  ready  to  support  the  advance 
of  White's  Pawns,  or,  if  necessary,  to  go  to  Q  B  5,  or 
to  move  to  the  right  wing  in  case  of  danger.  Besides, 
White  holds  the  open  file  with  one  of  his  Rooks.  Al- 
together White's  position  is  superior  and  his  chances 
of  winning  are  excellent. 

10 R-R3 

11.  R-Kt3       R(R3)-K3 

to  prevent  P  —  Q  4.  Also  Black  fears  to  keep  his 
Rook  in  front  of  his  two  King's  side  Pawns  which  he 
may  want  to  utilise  later. 

12.  P-R4  P-Kt3 

13.  R-Kts       P-R3 


TWO  ROOKS  AND   PAWNS  137 

White  threatens  P  — R  5,  which  would  finally  force 
Black  to  take,  and  then  White  would  double  his 
Rooks  against  the  isolated  Pawn  and  win  it,  or 
tie  up  Black's  Rooks  completely.  The  text  move, 
however,  only  helps  WTiite;  therefore  Black  had 
nothing  better  than  to  hold  tight  and  wait. 
R  — K  4  would  not  help  much,  as  WTiite  would 
simply  answer  R  -  B  8,  R  -  K  i ;  R  (Kt  5)  X  R, 
and  whichever  Rook  Black  took.  White  would  have 
an  easy  game.  (The  student  should  carefully  study 
these  variations.) 

14.  R-Kt4  R-Kt  2 

15.  P-Q4  K-Bi 

16.  R-B  8ch  K-Kt  2 

K  — Q  2  would  not  help  much,  but  since  he  made  the 
previous  move  he  should  now  be  consistent  and  play 
it. 


17. 

P-K5 

P-Kt4 

18. 

K-K4 

R(K3)-K2 

19. 

PxP 

PxP 

20. 

R-B5 

K-B  I 

21. 

R  (Kt  4)  X  P 

R-R2 

22. 

R-R5 

K-Q2 

23- 

RxR 

RxR 

24. 

R-B  8 

R-R5ch 

25- 

K-Q3 

R-R6ch 

138         ROOK,  BISHOP  AND  PAWNS  v. 

26.  K-Q2  P-B4 

27.  KtPxP  R-QR6 

28.  P  —  Q  5  Resigns. 

The  winning  tactics  in  all  these  endings  have  nierely 
consisted  in  keeping  the  opponent's  Rooks  tied  to  the 
defence  of  one  or  more  Pawns,  leaving  my  own  Rooks 
free  for  action.  This  is  a  general  principle  which 
can  be  equally  applied  to  any  part  of  the  game.  It 
means  in  general  terms  — 

Keep  freedom  of  manoeuvre  while  hampering  your 
opponent. 

There  is  one  more  thing  of  great  importance,  and 
that  is  that  the  winning  side  has  always  had  a  general 
strategical  plan  capable  of  being  carried  out  with  the 
means  at  his  disposal,  while  often  the  losing  side  had 
no  plan  at  all,  but  simply  moved  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  moment. 


30.    ROOK,  BISHOP  AND  PAWNS  v.  ROOK, 
KNIGHT  AND  PAWNS 

We  shall  now  examine  an  ending  of  Rook,  Bishop 
and  Pawns  against  Rook,  Knight  and  Pawns,  where 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  Rook  at  times  is  used  in  the 
same  way  as  in  the  endings  already  given. 

Example  62.  —  From  the  first  game  of  the  Lasker- 
Marshall  Championship  Match  in  1907. 


ROOK,  KNIGHT  AND  PAWNS         139 


t„. 


_feai^i^ 


^i         PSJ^ 


e 


''■^ 


In  this  position  it  is  Black's  move.  To  a  beginner 
the  position  may  look  like  a  draw,  but  the  advanced 
player  will  realise  immediately  that  there  are  great 
possibilities  for  Black  to  win,  not  only  because  he  has 
the  initiative,  but  because  of  White's  undeveloped 
Queen's  side  and  the  fact  that  a  Bishop  in  such  a  posi- 
tion is  better  than  a  Knight  (see  Section  14).  It  will 
take  some  time  for  White  to  bring  his  Rook  and  Knight 
into  the  fray,  and  Black  can  utilise  it  to  obtain  an 
advantage.  There  are  two  courses  open  to  him.  The 
most  evident,  and  the  one  that  most  players  would 
take,  is  to  advance  the  Pawn  to  Q  B  4  and  Q  B  5 
immediately  in  conjunction  with  the  Bishop  check 
at  R  3  and  any  other  move  that  might  be  necessary 
with  the  Black  Rook.  The  other,  and  more  subtle, 
course  was  taken  by  Black.  It  consists  in  utilising 
his  Rook  in  the  same  way  as  shown  in  the  pre\'ious 
endings,  forcing  White  to  defend  something  all  the 
time,  restricting  the  action  of  WTiite's   Knight   and 


140        ROOK,  BISHOP  AND   PAWNS  v. 

WTiite's  Rook,  while  at  the  same  time  keeping  freedom 
of  action  for  his  own  Rook  and  Bishop. 

I R-Kt  I 

This  forces  P  — Q  Kt  3,  which  blocks  that  square 
for  the  White  Knight. 

2.  P-Kt3  R-Kt  4 

bringing  the  Rook  to  attack  the  King's  side  Pawns 
so  as  to  force  the  King  to  that  side  to  defend  them, 
and  thus  indirectly  making  more  secure  the  position 
of  Black's  Queen's  side  Pawns. 

3.  P-B4  R-KR4 

4.  K-Kt  I  P-B4 

Note  that  the  White  Knight's  sphere  of  action  is 
very  limited,  and  that  after  Kt  —  Q  2  White's  own 
Pawns  are  in  his  way. 

5.  Kt-Q2  K-B  2 

6.  R-B  I  ch 

This  check  accomplishes  nothing.  It  merely  drives 
Black's  King  where  it  wants  to  go.  Consequently 
it  is  a  very  bad  move.  P  —  Q  R  3  at  once  was  the 
best  move. 

6 K-K2 

7.  P-QR3  R-R3 

Getting  ready  to  shift  the  attack  to  the  Queen's  side, 
where  he  has  the  advantage  in  material  and  position. 

8.  P-KR4  R-R3 


ROOK,   KNIGHT  AND   PAWNS         141 

Notice  how  similar  are  the  manoeuvres  with  this  Rook 
to  those  seen  in  the  previous  endings. 

9.  R  -  R  I  B  -  Kt  5 

Paralysing  the  action  of  the  Knight  and  fixing  the 
whole  King's  side. 

10.  K  — B2  K— K3 

White  cannot  answer  Kt  — B  3,  because  B  x  Kt 
followed  by  K  —  K  4  will  win  a  Pawn,  on  account  of 
the  check  at  K  B  3  which  cannot  be  stopped. 


II. 

P-R4 

K-K4 

12. 

K-Kt  2 

R-KB3 

13. 

R-K  I 

P-Q6 

14. 

R-KB  I 

K-Q5 

Now  the  King  attacks  WTiite's  PawTis  and  all  \^ill 
soon  be  over. 

15.  RxR  PxR 

6.   K-B  2  P-B  3 

Merely  to  exhaust  WTiite's  move,  which  wWl  finally 
force  him  to  move  either  the  King  or  the  Knight. 


17- 

P-QR5 

P-QR3 

18. 

Kt-B  I 

KxP 

19. 

K-K  I 

B-K7 

20. 

Kt-Q2ch 

K-K6 

21. 

Kt  -  Kt  I 

P-B  4 

22. 

Kt-Q2 

P-R4 

23- 

Kt  -  Kt  I 

K-B6 

24. 

Kt-B  3 

KxP 

142  ROOK,  BISHOP  AND  PAWNS 

25.  Kt-R4  P-B  5 

26.  KtxP  P-B  6 

27.  Kt-K4ch        K-B  5 

The  quickest  way  to  win.  White  should  resign. 

2^.   Kt-Q6  P-B  4 

29.  P-Kt4  PxP 

30.  P-B  5  P-Kt6 

31.  Kt-B4  K-Kt6 

32.  Kt-K3  P-Kt7 
Resigns. 

A  very  good  example  on  Black's  part  of  how  to  con- 
duct such  an  ending. 


CHAPTER  VI 


Further  Openings  ant)  Middle-Games 

31.    SOME  SALIENT  POINTS  ABOUT  PAWNS 

Before  going  back  to  the  discussion  of  openings  and 
middle-game  positions,  it  might  be  well  to  bear  in 
mind  a  few  facts  concerning  Pawn  positions  which 
will  no  doubt  help  to  understand  certain  moves,  and 
sometimes  even  the  object  of  certain  variations  in 
the  openings,  and  of  some  manoeuvres  in  the  middle- 
games. 


■  i^iM 


■     WB     ■  s  ■  s 


M 


A 


P     ■ 


Example  63.  —  In  the  position  of  the  diagram  we 
have  an  exceedingly  bad  Pa\vn  formation  on  Black's 
side.  Black's  Q  B  P  is  altogether  backward,  and 
White  could  by  means  of  the  open  file  concentrate 

U3 


144 


SOME  SALIENT  POINTS 


his  forces  against  that  weak  point.  There  is  also  the 
square  at  White's  Q  B  5,  which  is  controlled  by  White, 
and  from  where  a  White  piece  once  established  could 
not  be  dislodged.  In  order  to  get  rid  of  it,  Black 
would  have  to  exchange  it,  which  is  not  always  an 
easy  matter,  and  often  when  possible  not  at  all  con- 
venient. The  same  holds  true  with  regard  to  Black's 
K  P,  K  B  P  and  K  Kt  P,  which  create  what  is  called 
a  "hole"  at  Black's  K  B  3.  Such  Pawn  formations 
invariably  lead  to  disaster,  and  consequently  must 
be  avoided. 


^^^"^.-"..... ^ 


fif  1  iii 


I  §m  & 


i 


Example  64.  —  In  this  position  we  might  say  that 
the  White  centre  Pawns  have  the  attacking  position, 
while  the  Black  centre  Pawns  have  the  defensive 
position.  Such  a  formation  of  Pawn  occurs  in  the 
French  Defence.  In  such  positions  White  most  often 
attempts,  by  means  of  P  —  K  B  4  and  KB  5,  to  obtain 
a  crushing  attack  against  Black's  King,  which  is  gen- 
erally Castled  on  the  King's  side.     To  prevent  that, 


ABOUT  PAWNS  145 

and  also  to  assume  the  initiative  or  obtain  material 
advantage,  Black  makes  a  counter-demonstration  by 
P  -  Q  B  4,  followed  by  P  X  P  (when  White  defends 
the  Pawn  by  P  — Q  B  3),  and  the  concentrating  of 
Black's  pieces  against  the  White  Pawn  at  Q  4.  This 
in  substance  might  be  said  to  be  a  determined  attack 
against  White's  centre  in  order  to  paralyse  the  direct 
attack  of  WTiite  against  Black's  King.  It  must  be 
temembered  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  book  it  was 
stated  that  control  of  the  centre  was  an  essential  co7idi- 
tion  to  a  successful  attack  against  the  King. 

In  an  abstract  way  we  may  say  that  two  or  more 
Pawns  are  strongest  when  they  are  in  the  same  rank 
next  to  one  another.  Thus  the  centre  Pawns  are 
strongest  in  themselves,  so  to  speak,  when  placed  at 
K  4  and  Q  4  respectively,  hence  the  question  of  ad- 
vancing either  the  one  or  the  other  to  the  fifth  rank 
is  one  that  must  be  most  carefully  considered.  The 
advance  of  either  Pawn  often  determines  the  course 
the  game  will  follow. 

Another  thing  to  be  considered  is  the  matter  of  one 
or  more  passed  Pawns  when  they  are  isolated  either 
singly  or  in  pairs.  We  might  say  that  a  passed  Pawn 
is  either  vev}'  weak  or  very  strong,  and  that  its  weakness 
or  strength,  whichever  happens  to  be  in  the  case  to 
be  considered,  increases  as  it  advances,  and  is  at  the 
same  time  in  direct  relation  to  the  number  of  pieces 
on  the  board.  In  this  last  respect  it  might  be  generally 
said  that  a  passed  Pawn  increases  in  strength  as  the 
number  of  pieces  on  the  board  diminishes. 


146     SOME   POSSIBLE   DEVELOPMENTS 

Having  all  this  clear  in  mind  we  will  now  revert 
to  the  openings  and  middle-game.  We  will  analyse 
games  carefully  from  beginning  to  end  according  to 
general  principles.  I  shall,  whenever  possible,  use 
my  owTi  games,  not  because  they  will  better  illustrate 
the  point,  but  because,  knowing  them  thoroughly,  I 
shall  be  able  to  explain  them  more  authoritatively 
than  the  games  of  others. 

32.    SOME  POSSIBLE  DEVELOPMENTS  FROM 
A  RUY  LOPEZ 

That  some  of  the  variations  in  the  openings  and 
the  manoeuvres  in  the  middle-game  are  often  based 
on  some  of  the  elementary  principles  just  expounded 
can  be  easily  seen  in  the  following  case : 

Example  65. 

1.  P-K4  P-K4 

2.  Kt-KB3  Kt-QB3 

3.  B-Kt5  P-QR3 

4.  B-R4  Kt-B  3 

5.  0-0  KtxP 

6.  P-Q4  P-QKt4 

7.  B-Kt3  P-Q4 

8.  PxP  B-K3 

9.  P-B3  B-K2 

10.  R-Ki  Kt-B  4 

11.  B-B  2  B-Kt  5 

12.  QKt-Q2  0-0 

13.  Kt-Kt3  Kt-K3 


FROM  A  RUY  LOPEZ 


147 


So  far  a  very  well-known  variation  of  the  Ruy 
Lopez.  In  fact,  they  are  the  moves  of  the  Janowski- 
Lasker  game  in  Paris,  191 2. 

14.   Q-Q3  P-Kt3 

Let  us  suppose  the  game  went  on,  and  that  in  some 
way  White,  by  playmg  one  of  the  Knights  to  Q  4 
at  the  proper  time,  forced  the  exchange  of  both  Knights, 
and  then  afterwards  both  the  Bishops  were  exchanged, 
and  we  arrived  at  some  such  position  as  shown  in  the 
following  diagram.  (I  obtained  such  a  position  in  a 
very  similar  way  once  at  Lodz  in  Poland.  I  was  play- 
ing the  White  pieces  against  a  consulting  team  headed 
by  Sal  we.)  


'^/^/////,    ,-  ,     '/^-//M.', 


'^or^  we  would  have  here  the  case  of  the  backward 
Q  B  P,  which  will  in  no  way  be  able  to  advance  to 
Q  B  4.  Such  a  position  may  be  said  to  be  theoretically 
lost,  and  in  practice  a  first-class  master  will  invariably 
win  it  from  Black.  (If  I  may  be  excused  the  reference, 
I  will  say  that  I  won  the  game  above  referred  to.) 

After  a  few  moves  the  position  may  be  easily  thus : 


148      SOME  POSSIBLE  DEVELOPMENTS 


"^ 


"WM. 


■  i  B  i  »,„,■, 


PM'^^^^  '"^^^       ^ 


I  ^       ^       ^  a  ^^ 


m 


wm.^wm. 


^i 


m    m,    wM 


The  Black  pieces  can  be  said  to  be  ^xt^.  If  White 
plays  Q  —  Q  B  3,  Black  must  answer  Q  —  Q  2,  other- 
wise he  will  lose  a  Pawn,  and  if  White  returns  with 
the  Queen  to  Q  R  3  Black  will  have  again  to  return 
to  Q  Kt  2  with  the  Queen  or  lose  a  Pawn.  Thus  Black 
can  only  move  according  to  White's  lead,  and  under 
such  conditions  White  can  easily  advance  with  his 
Pawns  to  K  B  4  and  K  Kt  4,  until  Black  will  be  forced 
to  stop  P  —  B  5  by  playing  P  —  K  B  4,  and  we  might 
finally  have  some  such  position  as  this: 


Example  66. 


mAmkm^m 


i    ■    ■&■ 

^      ^P      ^P  a 


f  ■   »   »   il 
i «   «   •   ^ 


%^/y/y/A  . 


FROM  A  RUY  LOPEZ  149 

In  this  situation  the  game  might  go  on  as  follows : 

I.  P  X  P,  P  X  P;  2.  Q  -  K  B  3,  Q  -  Q  2 

White  threatened  to  win  a  Pawn  by  Q  X  P,  and  Black 
could  not  play  2.  .  .R  —  K  B  i,  because  3  R  X  B  P 
would  also  win  a  Pawn  at  least. 


4.  R-  Kt2,K-  Ri 

R  (B  i)  -  K  Kt  I 

7.  RX  R,  RX  R 

9.  K  -  R  2,  Q  -  Kt  3 

-  Kt  4,  and  White  wins 


3.  R(B5)-B2,R-Kt3; 

5.  R(B  i)  -  KKti, 

6.  Q-  R5,  RX  R; 
8.  K  X  R,  Q  -  Kt  2  ch; 
10.  QXQ,  PX  Q;        II.  P 

Now  suppose  that  in  the  position  in  the  preceding 
diagram  it  were  Black's  move,  and  he  played  R  —  K  B  i. 
White  would  then  simply  defend  his  K  B  P  by  some 
move  like  Q  -  K  B  3,  threatening  R  X  Q  B  P,  and 
then  he  would  bring  his  King  up  to  Kt  3,  and  when 
the  time  came,  break  through,  as  in  the  previous  case. 
White  might  even  be  able  to  obtain  the  following 
position : 


,     «      «      C^.       ^ 

'^^^^^M^     .,.:         :  A  I 

mm  ^    >  ^^    ..M  ^  m 

^- '^  S  ^W^  S     A  ■  ft  ^ 


150      SOME  POSSIBLE   DEVELOPMENTS 

Black  would  now  be  forced  to  play  R—  B  i,  and 
White  could  then  play  Q  —  B  2,  and  follow  it  up  with 
K  B  3,  and  thus  force  Black  to  play  P  X  P,  which 
would  give  White  a  greater  advantage. 

A  careful  examination  of  all  these  positions  will 
reveal  that,  besides  the  advantage  of  freedom  of 
manoeuvre  on  White's  part,  the  power  of  the  Pawn 
at  K  5  is  enormous,  and  that  it  is  the  commanding 
position  of  this  Pawn,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  free  to 
advance,  once  all  the  pieces  are  exchanged,  that  con- 
stitute the  pivot  of  all  White's  manoeuvres. 

I  have  purposely  given  positions  without  the  moves 
which  lead  to  them  so  that  the  student  may  become 
accustomed  to  build  up  in  his  own  mind  possible 
positions  that  may  arise  (out  of  any  given  situation). 
Thus  he  will  learn  to  make  strategical  plans  and  be  on 
his  way  to  the  master  class.  The  student  can  derive 
enormous  benefit  by  further  practice  of  this  kind. 

33.    THE   INFLUENCE  OF   A   "HOLE" 

The  influence  of  a  so-called  "hole"  in  a  game  has 
already  been  illustrated  in  my  game  against  Blanco 
(page  81),  where  has  been  shown  the  influence  exer- 
cised by  the  different  pieces  posted  in  the  hole  created 
at  White's  K  5. 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A  "HOLE"       151 

Example  67. —  Li  order  to  further  illustrate  this 
point,  I  now  give  a  game  played  in  the  Havana  Inter- 
national Masters  Tournament  of  1913.  (Queen's 
Gambit  Declined.)  White:  D.  Janowski.  Black: 
A.  Kupchick. 

1.  P-Q4  P-Q4 

2.  P-QB4  P-K3 

3.  Kt— QB  3  Kt  — KB3 

4.  B  —  Kt5  B  —  K2 

5.  P-K3  QKt-Q2 

6.  B-Q3  PxP 

7.  BxP  Kt  — Kt3 

Of  course  the  idea  is  to  post  a  Knight  at  Q  4,  but  as 
it  is  the  other  Knight  which  will  be  posted  there  this 
manoeuvre  does  not  seem  logical.  The  Knight  at 
Kt  3  does  nothing  except  to  prevent  the  development 
of  his  own  Q  B.  The  normal  course  0—0,  followed 
by  P  — Q  B  4,  is  more  reasonable.  For  a  beautiful 
illustration  of  how  to  play  White  in  that  variation, 
see  the  Janowski-Rubinstein  game  of  the  St.  Peters- 
burg Tournament  of  191 4. 

8.  B-Q3 

B  —  Kt  3  has  some  points  in  its  favour  in  this  position, 
the  most  important  being  the  possibility  of  advancing 
the  King's  Pawn  immediately  after  8 . . .  K  Kt  —  Q  4 ; 
9  BxB,  QxB. 

8 K  Kt  —  Q  4 

9.  BxB  QxB 
10.   Kt  — B3 


152      THE   INFLUENCE   OF  A   "HOLE" 

Had  White's  Bishop  been  at  Q  Kt  3  he  could  now  play 
P  —  K  4  as  indicated  in  the  previous  note,  a  move 
which  he  cannot  make  in  the  present  position,  because 
of  Kt  — K  B  5  threatening,  not  only  the  K  Kt  P, 
but  also  Kt  X  B  ch.  As  White's  King's  Bishop  should 
never  be  exchanged  in  this  opening  without  a  very 
good  reason  White  therefore  cannot  play  P  —  K  4. 

10 0-0 

11.  0-0  B  — Q2 

12.  R— B  I 


i 


m 


m    «.„„.«„ 


B  mmi       


wmi     J     « ^  ^ 


i     iSf 


^ ^ 


m^WL 


White  is  perfectly  developed,  and  now  threatens  to 
win  a  Pawn  as  follows :  Kt  X  Kt,  Kt  x  Kt ;  P  —  K  4, 
followed  by  R  X  P. 

12 P-QB3 

The  fact  that  Black  is  practically  forced  to  make 
this  move  in  order  to  avoid  the  loss  of  a  Pawn  is  suffi- 
cient reason  in  itself  to  condemn  the  whole  system 
of  development  on  Black's  part.  In  effect,  he  plays 
B  —  Q  2,  and  now  he  has  to  shut  off  the  action  of  his 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF   A   "HOLE"      153 

own  Bishop,  which  thereby  becomes  httle  more  than 
a  Pawn  for  a  while.  In  fact,  it  is  hard  to  see  how  this 
Bishop  will  ever  be  able  to  attack  anything.  Besides, 
it  can  be  easily  seen  that  White  will  soon  post  his 
two  Knights  at  K  5  and  Q  B  5  respectively,  and  that 
Black  will  not  be  able  to  dislodge  them  without  seriously 
weakening  his  game,  if  he  can  do  it  at  all.  From  all 
these  reasons  it  can  be  gathered  that  it  would  probably 
have  been  better  for  Black  to  play  Kt  X  Kt  and  thus 
get  rid  of  one  of  the  two  White  Knights  before  assum- 
ing such  a  defensive  position.  In  such  cases,  the 
less  the  number  of  pieces  on  the  board,  the  better 
chances  there  are  to  escape. 

13.  Kt  — K4  P  — KB  4 

This  practically  amounts  to  committing  suicide,  since 
it  creates  a  hole  at  K  5  for  White's  Knight,  from  where 
it  will  be  practically  impossible  to  dislodge  him.  If 
Black  intended  to  make  such  a  move  he  should  have 
done  it  before,  when  at  least  there  would  have  been  an 
object  in  preventing  the  WTiite  Knight  from  reach- 
ing B  5. 

14.  Kt  — B  5  B  — K  I 

15.  Kt  — K5 

The  position  of  White's  Knights,  especially  the  one 
at  K  5,  might  be  said  to  be  ideal,  and  a  single  glance 
shows  how  they  dominate  the  position.  The  question 
henceforth  will  be  how  is  WTiite  going  to  deri\-e  the 
full  benefit  from  such  an  advantageous  situation. 
This  we  shall  soon  see. 


154     THE   INFLUENCE   OF   A  "HOLE" 


r«r^     m. 


P 

^1      ;>•  I  ,^  8 


15- 


R— Kt  I 


There  is  no  object  in  this  move,  unless  it  is  to  be  fol- 
owed  by  Kt—  Q  2.  As  that  is  not  the  case,  he  might 
have  gone  with  the  Rook  to  B  i,  as  he  does  later. 


i6.  R— Ki 

17.  Q-B3 

18.  Q— Kt3 


R-B3 

R-R3 
R— B  I 


White  threatened  to  win  the  exchange  by  playing 
either  Kt— B  7  or  Kt— Kt  4. 

19.  P  — B  3  R  — B  2 

20.  P— QR3  K— Ri 

21.  P  — R3 

Perhaps  all  these  precautions  are  unnecessary,  but 
White  feels  that  he  has  more  than  enough  time  to 
prepare  his  attack,  and  wants  to  be  secure  in  every 
way  before  he  begins. 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF   A   "HOLE"      155 


21 

22.   P  —  K  4 
2T,.   Q— B  2 

He  had  better  have  played  Kt  —  B  3  ;  and  tried  later 
on  to  get  rid  of  White's  Knights  by  means  of  Kt  —  Q  2. 


P-Kt4 
P-B5 
Kt— K6 


fi  i  1     ^    H  i 


i       4 

fii    *^.'    ^4i 


^    B  ^  * 


24.  R  X  Kt 

with  this  sacrifice  of  the  Rook  for  a  Knight  and  Pav^Ti 
White  obtains  an  overwhelming  position. 

24 P  X  R 

25.  Qx  P  Kt  — B  I 

Kt  —  Q  2  was  better  in  order  to  get  rid  of  one  of  the 
two  WTiite  Knights.  There  were,  however,  any  number 
of  good  ref)lies  to  it,  among  them  the  following : 
Kt  (B  5)  X  Kt,  B  X  Kt ;  Q  X  P,  Q  X  Q ;  Kt  —  B  7  ch, 
K — Kt  2  ;  Kt  X  Q,  and  with  two  Pawns  for  the 
exchange,  and  the  position  so  much  in  his  favour, 
White  should  have  no  trouble  in  winning. 


156       THE   INFLUENCE   OF   A   "HOLE" 

26.  Kt— Kt4  R— Kt3 

27.  P  — K5  R— Kt2 

28.  B  — B4  B  — B2 

All  these  moves  are  practically  forced,  and  as  it  is 
easily  seen  they  tie  up  Black's  position  more  and 
more.  White's  manoeuvres  from  move  24  onwards 
are  highly  instructive. 

29.  Kt  —  B  6  Kt  —  Kt  3 

This  wandering  Knight  has  done  nothing  throughout 
the  game. 

30.  Kt(B5)-K4P-KR3 

31.  P-KR4  Kt-Q4 

32.  Q-Q2  R-Kt3 

33.  PxP  Q-Bi 

If  P  X  P;    K  — B  2,  and  Black  would  be  helpless. 

34.  P— B  4  Kt— K  2 

35.  P  — KKt4        PxP 

36.  PxP  Resigns. 

There  is  nothing  to  be  done.  If  B  —  Kt  i ;  Q  —  R  2  ch, 
K— Kt  2;    B  X  P. 

The  student  should  notice  that,  apart  from  other 
things,  Wliite  throughout  the  game  has  had  control 
of  the  Black  squares,  principally  those  at  K  5  and 
QB  5. 

From  now  on  to  the  end  of  the  book  I  shall  give  a 
collection  of  my  games  both  lost  and  won,  chosen  so 
as  to  serve  as  illustrations  of  the  general  principles 
laid  down  in  the  foregoing  pages. 


PART     II 


PART   II 

GAME  1.    QUEEN'S  GAMBIT  DECLINED 
(Match,  1909) 

White  :  F.  J.  Marshall.  Black  :  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

1.  P  — Q4  P— Q4 

2.  P-QB4  P-K3 

3.  Kt-QB3  Kt-KB3 

4.  B  —  Kt5  B  —  K2 

5.  P-K3  Kt-K5 

I  had  played  this  defence  twice  before  in  the  match 
with  good  results,  and  although  I  lost  this  game  I 
still  played  it  until  the  very  last  game,  when  I  changed 
my  tactics.  The  reason  was  my  total  lack  of  knowl- 
edge of  the  different  variations  in  this  opening,  coupled 
with  the  fact  that  I  knew  that  Dr.  E.  Lasker  had  been 
successful  with  it  against  IMarshall  himself  in  1907. 
I  thought  that  since  Dr.  Lasker  had  played  it  so  often, 
it  should  be  good.  The  object  is  to  exchange  a  couple 
of  pieces  and  at  the  same  time  to  bring  about  a  position 
full  of  possibilities  and  with  promising  chances  of 
success  once  the  end-game  stage  is  reached.  On 
general  principles  it   should   be   wrong,   because   the 

159 


i6o  GAME   I 

same  Kjiight  is  moved  three  times  in  the  opening, 
although  it  involves  the  exchange  of  two  pieces.  In 
reality  the  difficulty  in  this  variation,  as  well  as  in 
nearly  all  the  variations  of  the  Queen's  gambit,  lies 
in  the  slow  development  of  Black's  Queen  Bishop. 
However,  whether  this  variation  can  or  cannot  be 
safely  played  is  a  question  still  to  be  decided,  and  it 
is  outside  the  scope  of  this  book.  I  may  add  that  at 
present  my  preference  is  for  a  different  system  of  devel- 
opment, but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  I  should  some 
time  come  back  to  this  variation. 

6.  BxB  QxB 

7.  B-Q3 

P  X  P  is  preferable  for  reasons  that  we  shall  soon  see. 

7 Kt  X  Kt 

8.  Px  Kt  Kt  — Q2 

Now  P  X  P  would  be  a  better  way  to  develop  the 
game.  The  idea  is  that  after  8...PXP;  qBxBP, 
P  —  Q  Kt  3,  followed  by  B  —  Kt  2,  would  give  Black's 
Bishop  a  powerful  range.  For  this  variation  see  the 
eleventh  game  of  the  match. 

9.  Kt-B3  0-0 

No  longer  would  9. .  .P  X  P ;  10  B  X  P,  P  —  Q  Kt  3 
be  good,  because  11  B  —  Kt  5  would  prevent  B  —  Kt  2 
on  account  of  Kt — K  5. 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED  i6i 

10.  P  X  P  P  X  P 

11.  Q— Kt3  Kt  — B  3 

12.  P— QR4        P  — B  4 

Played  with  the  intention  of  obtaining  the  majority 
of  Pawns  on  the  Queen's  side.  Yet  it  is  doubtful 
whether  this  move  is  good,  since  it  leaves  Black's 
Queen 's-side  Pawns  disrupted  in  a  way.  The  safer 
course  would  have  been  to  play  P  — B  3. 

13.  Q-R3  P-QKt3 


mm 


This  exposes  Black  to  further  attack  by  P  — R  5 
without  any  compensation  for  it.  If  I  had  to  play 
this  position  nowadays  I  would  simply  play  13 . . . 
R—  K  I.  Then  after  14  Q  X  P,  Q  X  Q  would  follow, 
and  I  believe  that  Black  would  regain  the  Pawn. 
If,  instead.  White  played  14  P  X  P  then  B  — Kt  5 
would  give  Black  an  excellent  game. 

14.  P  — R  5  B  — Kt  2 

15.  0—0  Q  — B  2 

16.  KR— Kt  I       Kt  — Q  2 


l62 


GAME   I 


i......  1^ 


rj  •  #^^ 


1 


Black's  position  was  bad  and  perhaps  lost  in  any 
case,  but  the  text  move  makes  matters  worse.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  I  never  saw  White's  reply  B  —  B  5. 
It  never  even  passed  through  my  mind  that  this  was 
threatened.  Black's  best  move  would  have  been 
16. .  .K  R—  Kt  I.  If  that  loses,  then  any  other  move 
would  lose  as  well. 

17.   B  — B  5  KR  — B  I 

From  bad  to  worse.    Kt  —  B  3  offered  the  only  hope. 


18. 

BX  Kt 

QXB 

19. 

P  — R6 

B-B3 

20. 

PxP 

PxP 

21. 

QxP 

QR  — Kt  I 

The  game  was  lost.    One  move  was  as  good  as  another. 

22.  RxR  RxR 

23.  Kt-K5  Q-B4 

24.  P— KB4  R— Kt3 

25.  Qx  R!  Resigns. 


QUEEN'S  GAMBIT  DECLINED  163 

Of  course,  if  25  Kt  X  B,  R  —  Kt  8  ch  would  have 
drawn.  The  text  move  is  pretty  and  finishes  quickly. 
A  well-played  game  on  Marshall's  part. 


GAME  2.    QUEEN'S  GAMBIT  DECLINED 
(San  Sebastian,  191 1) 

White  :  A.  K.  Rubinstein.      Black  :  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

1.  P-Q4  P-Q4 

2.  Kt— KB  3  P— QB  4 

3.  P_B4  P-K3 

4.  PxQP  KPxP 

5.  Kt-B3  Kt-QB3 

6.  P— KKt3  B— K3 

Kt  —  B  3  is  the  normal  move  in  this  variation.  WTiite's 
development  was  first  introduced  by  Schlechter  and 
elaborated  later  on  by  Rubinstein.  It  aims  at  the 
isolation  of  Black's  Q  P,  against  which  the  White 
pieces  are  gradually  concentrated.  In  making  the 
text  move  I  was  trying  to  avoid  the  beaten  track. 
Being  a  developing  move  there  should  be  no  objection 
to  it  in  the  way  of  general  principles,  except  that  the 
Knights  ought  to  come  out  before  the  Bishops. 

7.  B  — Kt  2  B-K2 

8.  0-0  R-B  I 

In   pursuance   of   the   idea   of   changing   the   normal 


164 


GAME   2 


course  of  this  variation,  but  with  very  poor  success. 
The  move  in  theory  ought  to  be  unsound,  since  Black's 
K  Kt  is  yet  undeveloped.  I  had  not  yet  learned  of 
the  attack  founded  on  Kt  —  Kt  5  and  the  exchange 
of  the  B  at  K  3.  Either  Kt  — B  3  or  P  — K  R  3; 
to  prevent  either  B  or  Kt — K  Kt  5,  was  right. 


'ii./M, 


^J  ^  w/M       WA 


w%. 


til  i  ^, 


i 


i  m 


W'^M       r.^^i       .,,,,,,,,, 
m^A      mm. 


i^H 


9- 

PXP 

BxP 

10. 

Kt— KKt  5 

Kt-B3 

II. 

KtxB 

PX  Kt 

12. 

B-R3 

Q— K2 

13- 

B-Kt5 

0-0 

This  is  a  mistake.  The  right  move  was  R  —  Q  i  in 
order  to  get  the  Rook  away  from  the  line  of  the  Bishop 
at  R  3  and  at  the  same  time  to  support  the  Q  P.  Inci- 
dentally it  shows  that  White  failed  to  take  proper 
advantage  of  Black's  weak  opening  moves.  Against 
the  text  move  White  makes  a  very  fine  combination 


QUEEN'S   GAjMBIT  DECLINED  165 

which  I  had  seen,  but   which   I    thought   could   be 
defeated. 

14.   B  X  Kt  Q  X  B 


I  considered  P  X  B,  which  it  seemed  would  give  me 
a  playable  game,  but  I  thought  WTiite's  combination 
unsound  and  therefore  let  him  play  it,  to  my  lasting 
regret. 


1 


:m 


....^A 


IB   B^H   P 


^i_^i®^. 


15.  KtxP! 


Q-R3 


'  "y/////,' X- 


.^-      ^ 


i 


^^ 


^^  «^    ^/  <i^ 


fi 


^^i  *= 


i66  GAME  2 

i6.  K  — Kt2! 

This  is  the  move  which  I  had  not  considered.  I  thought 
that  Rubinstein  would  have  to  play  B  — Kt  2,  when 
I  had  in  mind  the  following  winning  combination : 
16  B-Kt  2,  Kt  — K  4I  17  Kt  — B  4  (if  R-B  i, 
QxR!!  QxQ,  BxPch  wins),  Kt  —  Kt  5 ; 
18  P  — K  R  3  (if  Kt  — R  3,  B  X  P  ch  wins  the  ex- 
change), Kt  X  P ;  19  R  X  Kt,  B  X  R  ch ;  20  K  x  B, 
P  —  K  Kt  4,  and  Black  should  win.  It  is  curious  that 
this  combination  has  been  overlooked.  It  has  been 
taken  for  granted  that  I  did  not  see  the  17th 
move  Q — B  i. 

16 QR  — Qi 

After  White's  last  move  there  was  nothing  for  me  to 
do  but  submit  to  the  inevitable. 


17. 

Q  — B  i! 

PxKt 

18. 

QXB 

Q-Q7 

19. 

Q-Kt5 

Kt-Qs 

20. 

Q-Q3 

QxQ 

21. 

PXQ 

KR  — Ki 

22. 

B  — Kt4 

This  gives  Black  a  chance.  He  should  have  played 
K  R—  K  I.  If  then  Kt  —  B  7  ;  R  X  R  ch,  R  X  R ; 
R-QBi,R-K7;  K-B  i,  Kt- Q  5  (if  R- Q  7  ; 
B  — K6ch,  K  —  Bi;  BxP  would  win) ;  R—  B  8  ch, 
K  — B  2;   R— B  7  ch,  R— K  2;   R  — B  5  wins. 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED 

22 

R  — Q  % 

23.   KR-Ki 

RXR 

24.  R  X  R 

R-QKt3 

25.   R-K5 

RxP 

26.  R  X  P 

Kt-B3 

27.  B  — K6ch 

K  — B  I 

28.   R  — B  5  ch 

K— Ki 

29.   B  —  B  7  ch 

K-Q2 

30.   B-B4 

167 


30- 


P-QR3 


A  bad  move,  which  gives  away  any  legitimate 
chance  Black  had  to  draw.  It  loses  a  very  important 
move.  In  fact,  as  the  course  of  the  game  will  show, 
it  loses  several  moves.  The  proper  way  was  to  play 
K— Q  3.  If  then  R  — Q  Kt  5,  RxR;  B  x  R, 
Kt— Q  5;  followed  by  P  — Q  Kt  4;  and  WTiite 
would  have  an  exceedingly  difficult  game  to  draw  on 
account  of  the  dominating  position  of  the  Knight  at 


i68 


GAME   2 


Q  5  in  conjunction  with  the  extra  Pawn  on  the  Queen's 
side  and  the  awkward  position  of  White's  King.  (See 
how  this  is  so.) 

31.   R  — B  7  ch 

R  X  K  Kt  P 

B  — Kt8 


2>^- 
33- 
34. 
35- 
36. 
37. 
38. 


K-Q3 
P  — Kt4 

P-QR4 
P-RS 
P-Kt5 
K— B4 
K-Kt3 


RXP 

P  — R4 
R— R6ch 
R  — R5  ch 
B-Q5 

With  these  last  three  moves  White  again  gives  Black 
a  chance.  Even  before  the  last  move  B  —  B  4  would 
have  won  with  comparative  ease,  but  the  text  move 
is  a  downright  blunder,  of  which,  fortunately  for  him, 
Black  does  not  avail  himself. 


38 P— Kt6 

R  X  P   would   make   it   practically   impossible   for 
White  to  win,  if  he  can  win  at  all.    White's  best  con- 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED  169 

tinuation  then  would  have  been  :  39  B  —  B  4,  R  —  By; 
40  R— Kt  5  ch,  K— B  2;  41  B  — Kt  8,  P  — R  6; 
42  P  —  R  5,  P  —  R  7  ;  43  B  X  P,  R  X  B,  and  if  there 
is  a  win  it  is  very  difficult  to  find  it,  as  against 
44  P  —  R  6,  R  —  R  3!  offers  excellent  chances  for  a 
draw. 

39.  Px  P  P  — R6 

40.  B  X  Kt  R  X  Kt  P 

If  40...P  — R  7;  41  R— Kt  5  ch,  K— R  3; 
42  R— Kt  8. 

41.  B-Q5  P-R7 

42.  R— R6ch        Resigns. 

As  an  end  game,  this  is  rather  a  sad  exhibition  for 
two  masters.  The  redeeming  feature  of  the  game  is 
Rubinstein's  fine  combination  in  the  middle  game, 
beginning  with  14  B  x  Kt. 

GAME  3.    IRREGULAR  DEFENCE 
(Havana,  191 3) 
White  :    D.  Janowski.  Black :    J.  R.  Capablanca. 


I. 

P-Q4 

Kt— KB  3 

2. 

Kt-KB3 

P-Q3 

3- 

B-Kt5 

Q  Kt  —  Q  2 

4. 

P-K3 

P-K4 

5- 

Kt-B3 

P-B3 

6. 

B-Q3 

B  — K  2 

7. 

Q— K2 

Q-R4 

8. 

0-0 

Kt-B  I 

9- 

KR  — Q  I 

B-Kt5 

170  GAME  3 

At  last  Black  is  on  his  way  to  obtain  full  develop- 
ment. The  idea  of  this  irregular  opening  is  mainly 
to  throw  White  on  his  own  resources.  At  the  time 
the  game  was  played,  the  system  of  defence  was  not 
as  well  known  as  the  regular  forms  of  the  Queen's 
Pawn  openings.  Whether  it  is  sound  or  not  remains 
yet  to  be  proved.  Its  good  features  are  that  it  keeps 
the  centre  intact  without  creating  any  particular  weak- 
ness, and  that  it  gives  plenty  of  opportunity  for  deep 
and  concealed  manoeuvring.  The  drawback  is  the 
long  time  it  takes  Black  to  develop  his  game.  It  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  White  will  employ  that  time 
to  prepare  a  weU-conceived  attack,  or  that  he  will  use 
the  advantage  of  his  development  actually  to  prevent 
Black's  complete  development,  or  failing  that,  to 
obtaui  some  definite  material  advantage. 


ID.     P—  KR3 

11.  PxP 

12.  Kt— K4 


B  — R4 

PxP 


mm,  ^'^•'^'^■'i^B 


IRREGULAR  DEFENCE  171 

12 Kt  X  Kt 

A  very  serious  mistake,  I  considered  castling,  which 
was  the  right  move,  but  desisted  because  I  was  afraid 
that  by  playmg  13  B  X  Kt,  P  x  B  ;  14  Kt  — Kt  3, 
B  — Kt3;  i5Kt— B5,  White  would  obtain  a  win- 
ning position  for  the  end  game.  Whether  right  or 
wrong  this  shows  how  closely  related  are  all  parts  of 
the  game,  and  consequently  how  one  will  influence 
the  other. 

13.  BxB  KxB 

14.  B  X  Kt  B  — Kt  3 

Not  good.  The  natural  and  proper  move  would  have 
been  Kt —  K  3,  in  order  to  bring  all  the  Black  pieces 
into  play.  B  x  Kt  at  once  was  also  good,  as  it  would 
have  reheved  the  pressure  against  Black's  King's  Pawn, 
and  at  the  same  time  have  simplified  the  game. 

Here  it  is  seen  how  failure  to  comply  with  the  ele- 
mentary logical  reasons,  that  govern  any  given  posi- 
tion, often  brings  the  player  into  trouble.  I  was  no 
doubt  influenced  in  my  choice  of  moves  by  the  fear 
of  B  —  B  5,  which  was  a  very  threatening  move. 

15.  Q-B4  Kt-K3 

16.  P  — QKt  4  Q  — B  2 

17.  B  X  B  RPx  B 

18.  Q— K4  K— B  3 


172 


GAME  3 


m 


^^^ 


&^f 


Kf   r« 


19.  R-Q3 

P— K  R  4,  to  be  followed  by  P  — Kt  4,  might  have 
been  a  more  vigorous  way  to  carry  on  the  attack. 
Black's  weak  point  is  unquestionably  the  Pawn  at 
K  4,  which  he  is  compelled  to  defend  with  the  King. 
The  text  move  aims  at  doubling  the  Rooks,  with  the 
ultimate  object  of  placing  one  of  them  at  Q  6,  sup- 
ported by  a  Pawn  at  Q  B  5,  Black  could  only  stop 
this  by  playing  P  —  B  4,  which  would  create  a  "hole" 
at  Q  5 ;  or  by  playing  P—  Kt  3,  which  would  tie  the 
Black  Queen  to  the  defence  of  the  Q  B  P  as  well  as 
the  K  P,  which  she  already  defends.  Black,  how- 
ever, can  meet  all  this  by  offering  the  exchange  of 
Rooks,  which  destroys  White's  plans.  For  this  reason 
P  — K  R  4  appears  the  proper  way  to  carry  on  the 
attack. 

19 QR-Qi 

20.  QR— Qi         P  — KKt4 

This  move  is  preparatory  to  P  —  K  Kt  3,  which  would 


IRREGULAR  DEFENCE 


173 


make  Black's  position  secure.    Unfortunately  for  Black, 
he  did  not  carry  out  his  original  plan. 


21.   P  — B4 


RxR 


P — K  Kt  3  would  have  left  Black  with  a  perfectly 

safe  game. 

22.   RxR  R— Q  I 

A  very  serious  mistake,  which  loses  a  Pa\\Ti.  P  — 
K  Kt  3  was  the  right  move,  and  would  have  left  Black 
with  a  very  good  game.  In  fact,  if  it  should  come  to 
a  simple  ending,  the  position  of  the  Black  King  would 
be  an  advantage. 


23.  RxR 


Ktx  R 


24.  P  — KR4 

This  wins  a  Pa^\^l,  as  will  soon  be  seen.  Black  cannot 
reply  24...Kt—  K  3  ;  because  25  P  X  P  ch,  Kt  X  P; 
26  Q— R  4  wins  the  Knight. 


174  GAME  4 

24 PXP 

25.  Q  X  P  ch  K— K  3 

26.  Q— Kt4ch  K  — B  3 

27.  Q— Ktsch  K— K3 

28.  QxP  Q— Q3 

29.  P-B5  Q-Q4 

30.  P-K4!  Q-Q8ch 

31.  K— R2  P  — B  3 

32.  Q— Kt4ch!  K  — K2 

33.  KtxP  QXQ 

34.  KtxQ  Kt-K3 

35.  P-K5  PxP 

36.  KtxP  Kt— Q5 

The  game  went  on  for  a  few  more  moves,  and, 
there  being  no  way  to  counteract  the  advance  of 
White's  two  passed  Pawns,  Black  resigned. 


GAME  4.    FRENCH  DEFENCE 

(St.  Petersburg,  1913) 

WTiite :  J.  R.  Capablanca.  Black :  E.  A.  Snosko-Borovski. 

1.  P-Q4  P-K3 

2.  P  — K4  P— Q4 

3.  Kt-QB3  Kt-KB3 

4.  B  — Kt  5  B  — Kt  5 

This  constitutes  the  McCutcheon  Variation.     It  aims 
at  taking  the  initiative  away  from  White.     Instead 


FRENCH  DEFENCE  175 

of  defending,  Black  makes  a  counter  demonstration 
on  the  Queen's  side.  It  leads  to  highly  interesting 
games. 

5.   PXP 

At  the  time  this  game  was  played  the  variation  5  P  — 
K  5  was  in  vogue,  but  I  considered  then,  as  I  do  now, 
the  text  move  to  be  the  stronger. 

5 QxP 


This  is  considered  superior  to  P  x  P.  It  has  for  its 
object,  as  I  said  before,  to  take  the  initiative  away 
from  White  by  disrupting  White's  Queen's  side.  WTiite, 
however,  has  more  than  ample  compensation  through 
his  breaking  up  Black's  King's  side.  It  might  be 
laid  down  as  a  principle  of  the  opening  that  the  breaking 
up  of  the  King^s  side  is  of  more  importance  tlmn  a  simi- 
lar occurrence  on  the  Queen''s  side. 


6. 

Bx  Kt 

B  X  Kt  ch 

7- 

PXB 

PxB 

8. 

Kt-B3 

P-QKt3 

The  plan  of  Black  in  this  variation  is  to  post  his 
Bishop  on  the  long  diagonal  so  as  to  be  able  later  on, 
in  conjunction  with  the  action  of  his  Rooks  along 
the  open  K  Kt's  file,  to  make  a  violent  attack  against 
White's  King.  It  is,  of  course,  expected  that  \Miite 
will  Castle  on  the  King's  side  because  of  the  broken-up 
condition  of  his  Queen's  side  Pa^^•ns. 


176  GAME  4 

9-  Q— Q  2  B  — Kt  2 

10.  B  — K  2  Kt— Q2 

11.  P  — B4  Q— KB4 

12.  0  —  0  —  0 

An  original  idea,  I  believe,  played  for  the  first  time 
in  a  similar  position  in  a  game  against  Mr.  Walter 
Perm  Shipley,  of  Philadelphia.  My  idea  is  that 
as  there  is  no  Black  Bishop  and  because  Black's 
pieces  have  been  developed  with  a  view  to  an  attack 
on  the  King's  side,  it  will  be  impossible  for  Black  to 
take  advantage  of  the  apparently  unprotected  posi- 
tion of  White's  King.  Two  possibihties  must  be  con- 
sidered. Firstly :  If  Black  Castles  on  the  Queen's 
side,  as  in  this  game,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  no  danger 
of  an  attack.  Secondly :  If  Black  Castles  on  the  King's 
side,  White  begins  the  attack  first,  taking  advantage  of 
the  awkward  position  of  Black's  Queen.  In  addition 
to  the  attacking  probabilities  of  the  text  move,  White 
in  one  move  brings  his  King  into  safety  and  brings 
one  of  his  Rooks  into  play.  Thus  he  gains  several 
moves,  "tempi"  as  they  are  called,  which  will  serve 
him  to  develop  whatever  plan  he  may  wish  to 
evolve. 

12 0—0—0 

13.  Q— K3  KR— Kt  I 

14.  P-Kt3  Q-QR4 

Unquestionably  a  mistake,  overlooking  Wliite's  fine 


FRENCH  DEFENCE 


177 


reply,  but  a  careful  examination  will  show  that  WTiite 
already  has  the  better  position. 


15.  R-Q3! 

16.  KR— Q  I 


K— Kt  I 
Q-KB4 


lU    fa  i  i 


Um 


W/M 


S  ^'-•'  ^Bi 


^///^//i 


'^■////'X-, 


17.  Kt  — R4 

This  move  has  been  criticised  because  it  puts  the 
Knight  out  of  the  way  for  a  few  moves.  But  by  forc- 
ing Q  —  K  Kt  4 ;  WTiite  gains  a  ver}^  important  move 
with  P  —  B  4,  which  not  only  consohdates  his  position, 
but  also  drives  the  Queen  away,  putting  it  out  of  the 
game  for  the  moment.  Certainly  the  Queen  is  far 
more  valuable  than  the  Knight,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
time  gained  and  the  freedom  of  action  obtained  thereby 
for  WTiite's  more  important  pieces. 

17 Q— K  Kt  4 

18.  P  — B  4  Q— Kt  2 

19.  B-B3 


178 


GAME  4 


In  such  positions  it  is  generally  very  advantageous 
to  get  rid  of  the  Black  Bishop  controlling  his  Q  R  3 
and  Q  B  3,  which  form  "holes"  for  White's  pieces. 
The  Bishop  in  such  positions  is  of  very  great  defensive 
value,  hence  the  advantage  of  gettmg  rid  of  it. 


19 

20.  B  X  B 

21.  P-QB  5! 


KR— Ki 

KxB 

P-B3 


White  threatened  P  — B  6  ch. 


22.  Kt  — B  3 


Q-Bi 


To  prevent  the  Knight  from  moving  to  Q  6  via  Q  2 
and  K  4  or  Q  B  4.  It  is  self-evident  that  White  has  a 
great  advantage  of  position. 


23.  Kt— Q2? 

I  had  considered  R— Kt  3,  which  was  the  right 
move,  but  gave  it  up  because  it  seemed  too  slow,  and 


FRENCH  DEFENXE 


179 


that  in  such  a  position  there  had  to  be  some  quicker 
way  of  winning. 

2Z P  X  P 

24.  Kt  — B  4 

Kt  —  K  4  or  Kt  —  Kt  3  would  have  brought  about 
an  ending  advantageous  to  White. 

24 Kt— Kt3 

25.  Kt— R  5  ch  K  — R  I 

26.  Px  P  Kt  — Q4 

27.  Q-Q4  R-Bi 

If  R—  Kt  I ;   28  Kt  X  P,  R  (Kt  i)  —  B  I ;   29  Kt  x 
P  would  win. 


28.  P— B  4 

Kt  —  B  4  was  the  right  move.  I  was,  however,  still 
looking  for  the  "grand  combination,"  and  thought 
that  the  Pawn  I  would  later  on  have  at  Q  6  would 
win  the  game.  Black  deserves  great  credit  for  the 
way  in  which  he  conducted  this  exceedingly  difficult 


I  So 


GAME 


defence.  He  could  easily  have  gone  wrong  any  num- 
ber of  times,  but  from  move  22  onwards  he  always 
played  the  best  move. 


?8 

P-K4! 
P-K5 

29. 

Q-Kti 

30- 

PxKt 

PXR 

31- 

P  — Q6 

R— K7 

32. 

P-Q7 

R-B  ych 

33- 

K— Kt  I 

R— Kt  ich 

34. 

Kt-Kt3 

Q— K2 

35.   RXP 

The  position  is  most  interesting.  I  believe  I  lost 
here  my  last  chance  to  win  the  game,  and  if  that  is 
true  it  would  vindicate  my  judgment  when,  on  move 
28,  I  played  P  —  B  4.  The  student  can  find  out  what 
would  happen  if  White  plays  Q — Q  4I  at  once.  I 
have  gone  over  the  following  variations :  35  Q —  Q  4> 
R  X  K  R  P  (of  course  ifRxBP,  P  —  Q8  wins) ; 


FRENCH  DEFENCE 


I8l 


36QXQP!  R-Q  i;  37  Q-R6,  K-Kt  I  best 
(if  Q—  Q  5  ch ;  K—  R  I,  K—  Kt  I ;  R—  Q  Kt  I  wins) ; 
38  Q  X  B  P  and  WTiite  will  at  least  have  a  draw. 


35- 
36. 

R-K  7 
R-Q  I 

O-Q4 

37- 

Q— R4 

Q-K5 

3^- 

Q-R6 

K-Kt  I 

There  is  nothing  to  be  done  against  this  simple  move, 
since  White  cannot  play  Kt  —  Q  4,  because  Q  —  R  8 
mates. 

39.  K-B  I  RxQP 

40.  Kt  — Q4  R— K8ch 
Resigns. 

A  very  interesting  battle. 


GAME  5.    RUY  LOPEZ 

(St.  Petersburg,  1914) 
White :    Dr.   E.  Lasker.     Black :    J.  R.  Capablanca. 

1.  P— K4  P— K4 

2.  Kt— KB  3  Kt— QB  3 

3.  B-Kt5  P-QR3 

4.  BxKt 

The  object  of   this  move  is  to  bring  about  speedily 
a    middle-game    without    Queens,   in    which    WTiite 


i82  GAME   5 

has  four  Pawns  to  three  on  the  King's  side,  while 
Black's  superiority  of  Pawns  on  the  other  side  is 
somewhat  balanced  by  the  fact  that  one  of  Black's 
Pawns  is  doubled.  On  the  other  hand,  Black  has 
the  advantage  of  remaining  with  two  Bishops  while 
White  has  only  one. 

4 QPXB 

5.  P-Q4  PxP 

6.  QxP  QXQ 

7.  KtxQ  B-Q3 

Black's  idea  is  to  Castle  on  the  King's  side.  His 
reason  is  that  the  King  ought  to  remain  on  the  weaker 
side  to  oppose  later  the  advance  of  White's  Pawns. 
Theoretically  there  is  very  much  to  be  said  in  favour 
of  this  reasoning,  but  whether  in  practice  that  would 
be  the  best  system  would  be  rather  difhcult  to  prove. 
The  student  should  notice  that  if  now  all  the  pieces 
were  exchanged  White  would  practically  be  a  Pawn 
ahead,  and  would  therefore  have  a  won  ending. 

8.  Kt  — QB3        Kt  — K2 

A  perfectly  sound  form  of  development.  In  any  other 
form  adopted  the  Black  Kt  could  not  be  developed 
either  as  quickly  or  as  well.  K  2  is  the  natural  position 
for  the  Black  Kt  in  this  variation,  in  order  not  to 
obstruct  Black's  Pawns,  and  also,  in  some  event- 
ualities,  in    order    to    go    to    K   Kt   3.     There   is 


RUY  LOPEZ 


183 


also  the  possibility  of  its  going  to  Q  5  via  Q  B  3  after 
P-QB4. 


9.  0-0 

10.  P  — B  4 


0-0 


This  move  I  considered  weak  at  the  time,  and  I  do 
still.  It  leaves  the  K  P  weak,  unless  it  advances  to 
K  5,  and  it  also  makes  it  possible  for  Black  to  pin  the 
Kt  by  B  —  Q  B  4. 


10. 


R— K  I 


Best.     It  threatens  B  — B  4;    B  — K  3,  Kt— Q  4. 
It  also  prevents  B  —  K  3  because  of  Kt  —  Q  4  or  B  4. 


II.   Kt  —  Kt  3 


B3 


Preparatory  to  P  —  Q  Kt  3,  followed  by  P  —  Q  B  4 
and  B  —  Kt  2  in  conjunction  with  Kt — Kt  3,  which 
would  put  WTiite  in  great  difficulties  to  meet  the 
combined  attack  against  the  two  centre  Pa\Mis. 

12.   P-B5 


r£  a    i 


1 84  GAME   5 

It  has  been  wrongly  claimed  that  this  wins  the  game, 
but  I  would  like  nothing  better  than  to  have  such  a 
position  again.  It  required  several  mistakes  on  my 
part  finally  to  obtain  a  lost  position. 


QKt3 


12 

13.    B-B4 


4  HI  I  = 


m     mm  » 

z^^ mm  ^ 


i     ■ 

Bg ^iS^ 


W^ 


■  &■   H^^^B 


13- 


B  — Kt2 


Played  against  my  better  judgment.  The  right  move 
of  course  was  B  X  B.  Dr.  Lasker  gives  the  follow- 
ing variation:  i3...BxB;i4RxB,  P  —  B  4; 
15  Q  R— Q  I,  B  — Kt  2;  16  R— B  2,  Q  R  — Q  i; 
17RXR,  RxR;  18R— Q2,  RxR;  19  Kt  x  R, 
and  he  claims  that  White  has  the  best  of  it.  But, 
as  Niemzovitch  pointed  out  immediately  after  the 
game,  16... Q  R — Q  i  given  in  Dr.  Lasker's  varia- 
tion, is  not  the  best.  If  16... Q  R  — B  i!  then 
White  will  have  great  difficulty  in  drawing  the  game, 


RUY  LOPEZ  185 

since  there  is  no  good  way  to  stop  Black  from  playing 
Kt  — B  3,  followed  by  Kt  — K  4,  threatening  Kt  — 
B  5.     And  should  Wliite  attempt  to  meet  this  ma- 
noeuvre by  withdrawing  the  Kt  at  Kt  3 ;    then  the 
Black  Knight  can  go  to  Q  5,  and  the  White  Pawn  at 
K  4  will  be  the  object  of  the  attack.     Taking  Dr. 
Lasker's  variation,  however,  whatever  advantage  there 
might  be  disappears  at  once  if  Black  plays  19. .  .Kt  — 
B  3,  threatening  Kt  —  Kt  5  and  also  Kt  —  Q  5,  neither 
of  which  can  be  stopped.    If  White  answers  20  Kt  — 
Q  5,  Kt  — Q  5  for  Black  will  at  least  draw.    In  fact, 
after  19. .  .Kt  —  B  3  Black  threatens  so  many  things 
that  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  WTiite  can  prevent  the 
loss  of  one  or  more  Pawns. 

14.  B  X  B  P  X  B 

15.  Kt-Q4 

It  is  a  curious  but  true  fact  that  I  did  not  see  this 
move  when  I  played  13 . .  .  B  —  Kt  2,  otherwise  I  would 
have  played  the  right  move  13. .  .B  X  B. 

15 QR-Qi 

The  game  is  yet  far  from  lost,  as  against  the  entry 
of  the  Knight,  Black  can  later  on  play  P  —  B  4,  fol- 
lowed by  P  —  Q  4. 

16.  Kt  — K6         R  — Q2 

17.  QR-Qi 


i86 


GA^IE  5 


C 


'iJe^,,'/ 


I  now  was  on  the  point  of  playing  P  —  B  4,  to  be 
followed  by  P  —  Q  4,  which  I  thought  would  give  me 
a  draw,  but  suddenly  I  became  ambitious  and  thought 
that  I  could  play  the  text  move,  i7...Kt  —  B  i, 
and  later  on  sacrifice  the  exchange  for  the  Knight 
at  K  6,  winning  a  Pawn  for  it,  and  leaving  White's 
K  P  still  weaker.  I  intended  to  carry  this  plan  either 
before  or  after  playing  P  —  K  Kt  4  as  the  circumstances 
demanded.     Now  let  us  analyse  :    1 7 . . .  P  —  B  4.    If 

18  Kt— Q  5,  Bx  Kt;  19  PxB,  P  — Q  Kt  4;  and  a 
careful  analysis  wall  show  that  Black  has  nothing  to 
fear.  Black's  plan  in  this  case  would  be  to  work  his 
Kt  around  to  K  4,  via  Q  B  i,  Q  Kt  3,  and  Q  B  5  or 
Q  2.    Again,  17...P  — B  4;  18  R— B  2,  P -Q  4; 

19  P  X  P,  B  X  P  ;  20  Kt  X  B  (best,  since  if  R  (B  2)  — 
Q  2,  B  X  Kt  give  Black  the  advantage),  RxKt; 
21  R  X  R,  Kt  X  R;  and  there  is  no  good  reason  why 
Black  should  lose. 

Kt  — Bi 


17 

18.  R— B  2 


P-QKt4 


RUY  LOPEZ  187 

19.  KR  — Q  2  R  (Q  2)  — K  2 

20.  P  — QKt4  K  — B  2 

21.  P  — QR3  B  — Ri 

Once  more  changing  my  plan  and  this  time  without 
any  good  reason.  Had  I  now  played  R  X  Kt;  P  X  R  ch, 
R  X  P ;  as  I  intended  to  do  when  I  went  back  w^ith 
the  Knight  to  B  i,  I  doubt  ver>^  much  if  White  would 
have  been  able  to  win  the  game.  At  least  it  would 
have  been  extremely  difficult. 

22.  K— B  2  R  — R  2 

23.  P— Kt  4  P  — R3 

24.  R-Q3  P-QR4 

25.  P— KR4  PX  P 

26.  P  X  P  R  (R  2)  —  K  2 

This,  of  course,  has  no  object  now.  Black,  with  a 
bad  game,  flounders  around  for  a  move.  It  would 
have  been  better  to  play  R  —  R  6  to  keep  the  open 
file,  and  at  the  same  time  to  threaten  to  come  out 
with  the  Knight  at  Kt  3  and  B  5. 

27.  K— B  3  R— Kt  I 

28.  K  — B  4  P  — Kt  3 

Again  bad.  Wliite's  last  two  moves  were  weak,  since 
the  White  King  does  nothing  here.  He  should  have 
played  his  Rook  to  Kt  3  on  the  27th  move.  Black 
now  should  have  played  P  —  Kt  4  ch.  After  missing 
this  chance  White  has  it  all  his  own  way,  and  finishes 
the  game  most  accurately,  and  Black  becomes  more 


i88  GAME  5 

helpless  with  each  move.  The  game  needs  no  further 
comment,  excepting  that  my  play  throughout  was  of 
an  altogether  irresolute  character.  When  a  plan  is 
made,  it  must  be  carried  out  if  at  all  possible.  Regard- 
ing the  play  of  White,  I  consider  his  loth  and  12th 
moves  were  very  weak ;  he  played  well  after  that  up 
to  the  27th  move,  which  was  bad,  as  well  as  his  28th 
move.  The  rest  of  his  play  was  good,  probably 
perfect. 


29. 

R-Kt3 

P  — Kt4ch 

30- 

K-B3 

Kt— Kt3 

31- 

PXP 

RPXP 

32. 

R-R3 

R— Q2 

33- 

K-Kt3! 

K— Ki 

34. 

QR— KRi 

B  — Kt2 

35- 

P-K5 

QPXP 

36. 

Kt-K4 

Kt-Q4 

37. 

Kt(K6)-B5 

B  — B  I 

38. 

KtxR 

BxKt 

39- 

R— R7 

R— B  I 

40. 

R-Ri 

K— Qi 

41. 

R  — RSch 

B  — B  I 

42. 

Kt-B5 

Resigns. 

FRENCH  DEFENCE  189 

GAME  6.    FRENCH  DEFENCE 
(Rice  Memorial  Tournament,  1916) 

White  :    O.   Chajes.      Black  :    J.  R.  Capablanca. 


I. 

P  — K4 

P-K3 

2. 

P-Q4 

P— Q4 

3- 

Kt-QB3 

Kt  — KB3 

4- 

B-Kt5 

B-Kt5 

Of  all  the  variations  of  the  French  Defence  I  like 
this  best,  because  it  gives  Black  more  chances  to 
obtain  the  initiative. 

5-   P-K5 

Though  I  consider  P  X  P  the  best  move,  there  is  much 
to  be  said  in  favour  of  this  move,  but  not  of  the  vari- 
ation as  a  whole,  which  Wliite  adopted  in  this  game. 


5. 

P-KR3 

6. 

B-Q2 

Bx  Kt 

7. 

PxB 

Kt-Ks 

8. 

Q-Kt4 

K  — B  I 

The  alternative,  P  —  K  Kt  3 ;  leaves  Black's  King's 
side  very  weak.  White  by  playing  P  —  K  R  4  would 
force  Black  to  play  P—  K  R  4 ;  and  later,  on  White's 
Bishop  by  going  to  Q  3,  would  threaten  the  weakened 
K  Kt  P.  By  the  text  move  Black  gives  up  Castlmg, 
but  gains  time  for  an  attack  against  WTiite's  centre 
and  Queen's  side. 


iQO  GAME  6 

9.  B-B  I  P-QB4 

Threatening  Q  —  R  4  and  stopping  thereby  White's 
threat  of  B  —  R  3.  It  demonstrates  that  White's 
last  move  was  a  complete  loss  of  time  and  merely 
weakened  his  position. 


10. 

B-Q3 

Q-R4 

II. 

Kt— K2 

PxP 

12. 

0-0 

PxP 

13. 

BxKt 

PXB 

14. 

QxP 

Kt-B3 

W£'. 


«i 


m 


'^^„*  ''^m 


i  B 


m 


WiW^.        M 


1  ,■  i 


^ -.HI. 


»i 


^ 


^^ ^^^ 


■ ■ M  _  ^ 


i  #1 


^■SB 


'^/'/'/yy/M ^^^ 


m.^WiA 


Black  has  come  out  of  the  opening  with  a  Pawn 
to  the  good.  His  development,  however,  has  suffered 
somewhat,  and  there  are  Bishops  of  opposite  colour, 
so  that  it  cannot  be  said  as  yet,  that  Black  has  a 
won  game ;  but  he  has  certainly  the  best  of  the  posi- 
tion, because,  besides  being  a  Pawn  to  the  good,  he 
threatens  White's  K  P,  which  must  of  course  be  de- 


FRENCH  DEFENCE  191 

fended,  and  this  in  turn  will  give  him  the  opportunity 
to  post  his  Knight  at  Q  4  via  K  2.  When  the  Black 
Knight  is  posted  at  Q  4,  the  Bishop  will  be  developed  to 
B  3  via  Q  2,  as  soon  as  the  opportunity  presents  itself, 
and  it  will  be  Black  that  will  then  have  the  initiative, 
and  can  consequently  decide  the  course  of  the  game. 

15.  R-Qi 

To  prevent  Kt  —  K  2 ;  which  would  be  answered  by 
Kt  X  P,  or  still  better  by  B  —  R  3.  The  move,  how- 
ever, is  strategically  wrong,  since  by  bringing  his 
pieces  to  the  Queen's  side.  White  loses  any  chance 
he  might  have  of  making  a  determined  attack  on  the 
King's  side  before  Black  is  thoroughly  prepared  for  it. 

15 P-KKt3 

16.  P  — B  4  K— Kt  2 

17.  B-K3 

Better  would  have  been  P  —  Q  R  4,  in  order  to  play 
B  —  R  3.  The  WTiite  B  would  be  much  better  posted 
on  the  open  diagonal  than  here,  where  it  acts  purely 
on  the  defensive. 

17 Kt— K  2 

18.  B  — B  2  Kt  — Q4 

This  Knight  completely  paralyses  the  attack,  as  it 
dominates  the  whole  situation,  and  there  is  no  way 
to  dislodge  it.  Behind  it  Black  can  quietly  develop 
his  pieces.  The  game  can  now  be  said  to  be  won 
for  Black  strategically. 


192 


GAME  6 


19.  R— Q3  B  — Q2 

20.  Kt-Q4  QR— QB  I 

21.  R— Kt3  K— R2 

22.  P— KR4  KR— Kt  I 

23.  P-R5  Q-Kt5 

In  order  to  pin  the  Knight  and  be  ready  to  come  back 
to  either  K  2  or  B  i.  Also  to  prevent  Q  R— Kt  i. 
In  reaUty  nearly  all  these  precautions  are  unnecessary, 
since  White's  attack  amounts  to  nothing.  Probably 
Black  should  have  left  aside  all  these  considerations, 
and  played  Q  —  R  5  now,  in  order  to  follow  it  up  with 
p  —  B  4,  as  he  did  later,  but  under  less  favourable 
circumstances. 

24.   R-R3 


24. 


p— B4 


Not  the  best,  as  White  will  soon  prove.  Q  — B  i 
would  have  avoided  everything,  but  Black  wants  to 
assume  the  initiative  at  once  and  plunges  into  com- 


FRENCH  DEFENCE 


193 


plications.    However,  as  will  soon  be  seen,  the  move 
is  not  a  losing  one  by  any  means. 

25.  P  X  P  e.p.       Kt  X  P  (B  3) 

26.  PxPch         RxP 


i 


^„„,    ^M 


y/y^/yyii. 


1  M^m  '""■ 


?r  ■ 


^ 


i»*^« 


liW     ■ 


^^  ^^' 


m      i^j 


27.  RxP  ch 
This  wins  the  Queen. 

27 KxR 

28.  Kt  — B  5ch   Px  Kt 

29.  QxQ 


^  ft 

^^     ^     i 


w 


^     l^g 


194  GAME  6 

The  position  looks  most  interesting.  I  thought  it 
would  be  possible  to  get  up  such  an  attack  against 
the  White  King  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  him  to 
hold  out  much  longer,  but  I  was  wrong,  unless  it 
could  have  been  done  by  playing  B  —  B  3  first,  forcing 
P  —  Kt  3  and  then  playing  K— R  4.  I  followed  a 
similar  plan,  but  lost  a  very  important  move  by  play- 
ing Q  R  —  K  Kt  I ;  which  gave  White  time  to  play 
R — Q  I.  I  am  convinced,  however,  that  B  —  B  3 
at  once  was  the  right  move.  White  would  be  forced 
to  play  P  —  Kt  3,  and  Black  would  reply  with  either 
K  —  R  4;  as  already  indicated,  which  looks  the  best 
(the  plan,  of  course,  is  to  play  R  —  K  R  i ;  and  follow 
it  up  with  K  —  Kt  5 ;  threatening  mate,  or  some 
other  move  according  to  circumstances.  In  some 
cases,  of  course,  it  will  be  better  first  to  play  K  —  Kt  5), 
or  Kt  —  K  5,  which  will  at  least  give  him  a 
draw.  There  are  so  many  possibilities  in  this  posi- 
tion that  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  them 
all.  It  will  be  worth  the  reader's  time  to  go 
carefully  through  the  lines  of  play  indicated  above. 

29 QR— KKt  I 

As  stated  B  —  B  3  was  the  best  move. 

30.  P-Kt3  B-B3 

31.  R— Qi  K— R4 

The  plan,  of  course,  as  explained  above,  is  to  go  to 
Kt  5  in  due  time  and  threaten  mate  at  K  R  8,  but 
it  is  now  too  late,  the  White  Rook  having  come  in 


FRENCH  DEFENCE  195 

time  to  prevent  the  mancEuvre.  Instead  of  the  text 
move,  therefore,  Black  should  have  played  Kt  —  K  5; 
which  would  have  given  him  a  draw  at  the  very  least. 
After  the  text  moves  the  tables  are  turned.  It  is  now 
White  who  has  the  upper  hand,  and  Black  who  has 
to  fight  for  a  draw. 

32.   R— Q6  B  — K5 

Kt  —  K  5  was  still  the  right  move,  and  probably 
the  last  chance  Black  had  to  draw  against  White's 
best  play. 

33'   QxBP  Kt-Q4 

34.  RxR  KxR 

Kt  X  Q ;  R  X  R,  Kt  X  P  was  no  better. 


35. 

Q- 

-K5 

K- 

-B  2 

36. 

p- 

-B4 

R- 

-Ki 

37- 

Q- 

-Kt  2 

Kt- 

-B3 

38. 

B- 

-Q4 

R- 

-KRi 

39- 

Q- 

-Kt5 

R- 

-R8ch 

40. 

K- 

-B  2 

P- 

-R3 

41. 

Q- 

-Kt6 

R- 

-R  7ch 

42. 

K- 

-K  I 

Kt- 

-Q2 

43- 

Q- 

-Q6 

B- 

-B3 

44- 

P- 

-Kt  4 

Px 

P 

45- 

P- 

-KB5 

R- 

-R8ch 

46. 

K- 

-Q2 

K- 

-K  I 

47. 

P- 

-B6 

R- 

-R2 

48. 

Q- 

-K6ch 

K- 

-B  I 

49. 

B- 

-K3 

R- 

B  2 

50- 

B- 

-R6ch 

K- 

-Kt  I 

196  GAME  6 

Most  players  will  be  wondering,  as  the  spectators 
did,  why  I  did  not  resign.  The  reason  is  that  while 
I  knew  the  game  to  be  lost,  I  was  hoping  for  the  fol- 
lowing variation,  which  Chajes  came  very  near  playing : 
5iQxPch,K-R2;  52Q-R5,RxP;  53  B- 
Kt  5  ch,  K—  Kt  2 ;  54  B  X  R  ch,  K  X  B;  and  while 
White  has  a  won  game  it  is  by  no  means  easy.  If 
the  reader  does  not  believe  it,  let  him  take  the  White 
pieces  against  a  master  and  see  what  happens.  My 
opponent,  who  decided  to  take  no  chances,  played 
51  B  —  Kt  7,  and  finally  won  as  shown  below. 


51- 

B  — Kt  7 

P— Kt6 

52. 

K— K2 

P  — Kt  7 

53- 

K— B  2 

Kt  — B  I 

54. 

Q-Kt4 

Kt  — Q2 

55- 

K— Kt  I 

P  — R4 

56. 

P  — R4 

BxP 

57- 

Q-R3 

RxP 

58. 

BxR 

KtxB 

59- 

QxPch 

K— B  I 

60. 

QxP 

and  after  a  very  few  more  moves  Black  resigned. 

A  very  fine  game  on  Chajes'  part  from  move  25 
on,  for  while  Black,  having  the  best  of  the  position, 
missed  several  chances.  White,  on  the  other  hand, 
missed  none. 


RUY  LOPEZ  197 

GAME  7.    RUY  LOPEZ 
(San  Sebastian,  191 1) 
White :    J.  R.  Capablanca.  Black :    A.  Bum- 

1.  P  — K4  P— K4 

2.  Kt— KB  3  Kt  — QB  3 

3.  B-Kt5  P-QR3 

4.  B  — R4  Kt  — B  3 

5.  P-Q3 

This  is  a  very  solid  development,  to  which  I  was 
much  addicted  at  the  time,  because  of  my  ignorance 
of  the  multiple  variations  of  the  openings. 

5 P-Q3 

6.  P  — B3  B  — K2 

In  this  variation  there  is  the  alternative  of  developing 
this  Bishop  via  Kt  2,  after  P —  K  Kt  3. 

7.  QKt— Q  2       0—0 

8.  Kt  — B  I  P  — QKt4 

9.  B  — B  2  P— Q4 

10.  Q— K  2  Px  P 

11.  Px  P  B  — QB  4 

Evidently  to  make  room  for  the  Queen  at  K  2,  but 
I  do  not  think  the  move  ad\dsable  at  this  stage.  B  — 
K  3  is  a  more  natural  and  effective  move.  It  develops 
a  piece  and  threatens  B  —  B  5,  which  would  have 
to  be  stopped. 

12.  B  — Kt  5  B  — K3 


198  GAME  7 

Now  it  is  not  so  effective,  because  White's  Q  B  is  out, 
and  the  Knight,  in  going  to  K  3  to  defend  the  square 
Q  B  4,  does  not  block  the  Q  B. 

13.  Kt— K3  R— Ki 

14.  0  —  0  Q— K2 

This  is  bad.  Black's  game  was  already  not  good. 
He  probably  had  no  choice  but  to  take  the  Knight 
with  the  Bishop  before  making  this  move. 


Wm     ^m  §  mi  \ 


m 


^^^     ^P     ^P  '^  ^P 


15.  Kt  — Qs  BxKt 

16.  PxB  Kt  — Kti 

in  order  to  bring  it  to  Q  2,  to  support  the  other  Knight 
and  also  his  King's  Pawn.  White,  however,  does  not 
allow  time  for  this,  and  by  taking  advantage  of  his 
superior  position  is  able  to  win  a  Pawn. 

17.  P-QR4         P-Kt5 

Since  he  had  no  way  to  prevent  the  loss  of  a  Pawn, 
he  should  have  given  it  up  where  it  is,  and  played 
Q  Kt—  Q  2,  in  border  to  make  his  position  more  solid. 


RUY  LOPEZ  199 

The  text  move  not  only  loses  a  Pawn,  but  leaves 
Black's  game  very  much  weakened. 

18.  P  X  P  B  X  P 

19.  B  X  Kt  Q  X  B 

20.  Q-K4  B-Q3 

21.  QxPch  K  — B  I 


■      ■      P"^  S  '^^^-mk 


With  a  Pa\vn  more  and  all  his  pieces  ready  for  action^ 
while  Black  is  still  backward  in  development,  it  only 
remains  for  White  to  drive  home  his  advantage  before 
Black  can  come  out  with  his  pieces,  in  which  case, 
by  using  the  open  K  R  file,  Black  might  be  able  to 
start  a  strong  attack  against  WTiite's  King.  Wliite 
is  able  by  his  next  move  to  eliminate  all  danger. 


22.   Kt  — R4 


Q-R3 

Black    could    not    play 


This   is   practically    forced 

P  —  Kt  3  because  of  B  X  P,  and  Wliite  meanwhile 

threatened  Q  —  R  S  ch  followed  by  Kt  —  B  5  ch  and 

QxP. 


200                                LrAMJn. 

7 

23.  QxQ 

PxQ 

24.   Kt-B5 

P-KR4 

25.   B-Qi 

Kt-Q  2 

26.   B  X  P 

Kt-B3 

27.  B-K2 

KtxP 

28.  KR— Q  I 

Kt-B5 

29.  B  — B  4 

KR— Qi 

30.  P-R4 

P  — R4 

Black  must  lose  time  assuring 

the  safety  of  this  Pawn. 

31.   P-KKt3 

Kt-K3 

32.   B  X  Kt 

PXB 

33-   Kt-K3 

KR— Kt  I 

34.   Kt-B4 

K— K2 

Black  fights  a  hopeless  battle.  He  is  two  Pawns  down 
for  all  practical  purposes,  and  the  Pawns  he  has  are 
isolated  and  have  to  be  defended  by  pieces. 

35.  QR— B  I         R  — R  2 

White  threatened  Kt  X  B,  followed  by  R  — B  7  ch. 

36.  R— K  I  K— B  X 

37.  R-K4  R-Kt5 

38.  P-Kt4  R-R3 

If  R  X  R  P ;   Kt  X  B  of  course  would  win  a  piece 

39.  R-B3  B-B4 

40.  R— B  3  ch  K  — Kt  2 

41.  P-Kt3  B-Qs 

42.  K— Kt2  R-Ri 


CENTRE 

GAME 

43- 

P-Kt5 

R-R3 

44- 

P-Rs 

Rx  Kt 

45. 

PxR 

R-B3 

46. 

P-Kt6 

Resigns. 

201 


GAMES.    CENTRE   GAIVIE 

(Berlin,  1913) 

White :    J.  Mieses.  Black :    J.  R.  Capablanca. 

1.  P— K4  P— K4 

2.  P— Q4  Px  P 

3.  QXP  Kt-QB3 

4.  Q-K3  Kt-B3 

5.  Kt-QB3  B-Kt5 

6.  B  — Q  2  0  —  0 

7.  0—0—0  R— K  I 

In  this  position,  instead  of  the  text  move,  P  —  Q  t, 
is  often  played  in  order  to  develop  the  Q  B.  My  idea 
was  to  exert  sufficient  pressure  against  the  K  P  to  win 
it,  and  thus  gain  a  material  advantage,  which  would, 
at  least,  compensate  whatever  slight  advantage  of 
position  WTiite  might  have.  The  plan,  I  think,  is 
quite  feasible,  my  subsequent  difficulties  being  due 
to  faulty  execution  of  the  plan. 

8.  Q— Kt  3  Ktx  P 

9.  Kt  X  Kt  R  X  Kt 
10.  B  —  K  B  4 


202 


GAME  8 


l#P^ 


I        1. 

■4' 


^    •    Wf^ 
^    ^i^^^^:^^^^ 

1   B   ^   ^.  I 


^mm  »^^^     ''^Mm.l.  ■'/W'^ 


10 Q-B3 

White's  threat  to  regain  the  Pawn  was  merely  with 
the  idea  of  gaining  time  to  develop  his  pieces.  Black 
could  have  played  P  —  Q  3 ;  opening  the  way  for  his 
Q  B,  when  would  have  followed,  11  B  —  Q3,  R —  Ki; 
12  Kt  — B  3,  and  White  would  soon  start  a  powerful 
direct  attack  against  Black's  King.  With  the  text  move 
Black  aims  at  taking  the  initiative  away  from  White 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  laid  down  in  this 
book. 

II.   Kt  — R3 

If  B  X  P,  P  —  Q  3 ;  and  White's  Bishop  would  be 
completely  shut  off,  and  could  only  be  extricated, 
if  at  all,  with  serious  loss  of  position.  The  text 
move  aims  at  quick  development  to  keep  the  initiative. 

II P-Q3 

This  now  is  not  only  a  developing  move,  but  it  also 
threatens  to  win  a  piece  by  B  x  Kt. 


CENTRE    GAME  203 

12.  B-Q3  Kt-Q5 

This  complicates  the  game  unnecessarily.    R  —  K  i ; 
was  simple,  and  perfectly  safe. 

13.  B-K3 


WM^jg^'frnm, 


i  1  i 


i 


1        tvLfJ        ^^^ 


.^^ 


mm      mm. 


13 B-Kt5 

This  is  a  serious  mistake.  The  position  was  most 
interesting,  and  though  in  appearance  dangerous  for 
Black,  not  so  in  reality.  The  right  move  would  have 
been  13. .  .R —  Kt  5,  when  we  would  have  14  B  X  Kt, 
RXB;  15P— QB3,BxP;  16  P  x  B,  R- K  Kt  5  ; 
17  Q—  K  3  (best),  QxPch;  18B  —  B2,  QxQ; 
19  P  X  Q,  R  X  P,  and  Black  has  the  best  of  the  game 
with  four  Pawns  for  a  Knight,  besides  the  fact  that 
all  the  White  Pawns  are  isolated. 

14.   Kt— Kt  5!       Rx  B 


There  was  nothing  better. 
15.   QXB! 


Kt  —  K  7  ch 


204 


GAME  8 


iBi 


i  m§ 


m 1 


i6.  BxKt! 

17.  Kt— K4! 

18.  QxR 

19.  P  — KB4 

20.  P  — B3 

21.  KR— Ki 

22.  R-Q5 


RxB 
RxKt 
Q— Kt  4ch 
Q-Kt4 
B  — B4 
Q-B3 


Q  X  Q  would  have  given  White  a  decided  advan- 
tage, enough  to  win  with  proper  play.  Mieses,  however, 
feared  the  difficulties  of  an  ending  where,  while  having 
the  exchange,  he  would  be  a  Pawn  minus.  He  pre- 
ferred to  keep  the  Queens  on  the  board  and  keep  up 
the  attack.  At  first  sight,  and  even  after  careful 
thought,  there  seems  to  be  no  objection  to  his  plan ; 
but  in  truth  such  is  not  the  case.  From  this  point 
the  game  will  gradually  improve  in  Black's  favour 
until,  with  the  exchange  ahead,  White  is  lost. 


CENTRE   GAME 


205 


22 

23-   P-B5 
24.  R  — Q2 


Q-Q2 

P-QB3 

P-Q4 


mm      m 


i 


WM 


^1? 


i    ■ 


My  plan  for  the  moment  is  very  simple.  It  ^ill 
consist  in  bringing  my  Bishop  around  to  B  3.  Then 
I  shall  try  to  paralyse  White's  attack  against  my 
King  by  playing  P  —  K  R  3,  and  also  prevent  White 
from  ever  playing  P  —  K  Kt  5.  Once  my  King  is 
safe  from  attack  I  shall  begin  to  ad\^ance  my  Queen's 
side  Pawns,  where  there  are  four  to  three ;  and  that 
advantage,  coupled  with  the  enormous  attacking  power 
of  my  Bishop  at  B  3,  will  at  least  assure  me  an  even 
chance  of  success. 


25-  Q-B3 

26.  QR— K  2 

27.  Q-R5 

28.  P  — KKt4 


B  — K2 
B-B3 
P  — KR3 
K  — R2! 


2o6  GAME  8 

To  prevent  P  —  K  R  4,  which  I  would  answer  with 
P  —  K  Kt  3,  winning  the  Queen.  It  can  now  be 
considered  that  my  King  is  safe  from  attack.  White 
will  have  to  withdraw  his  Queen  via  R  3,  and  Black 
can  use  the  time  to  begin  his  advance  on  the  Queen's 
side. 

29.  K— Kt  I         R— Qi 

30.  R— Q  I  P  — B  4 

Notice  that,  on  assuming  the  defensive,  White  has 
placed  his  Rooks  correctly  from  the  point  of  view  of 
strategy.  They  are  both  on  white  squares  free  from 
the  possible  attack  of  the  Black  Bishop. 

31.  Q-R3  Q-R5 

This  gains  time  by  attacking  the  Rook  and  holding 
the  White  Q  at  R  3  for  the  moment,  on  account  of 
the  K  Kt  P.  Besides,  the  Queen  must  be  in  the  middle 
of  the  fray  now  that  the  attack  has  to  be  brought 
home.  White  has  actually  more  value  in  material, 
and  therefore  Black  must  utilise  everything  at  his 
command  in  order  to  succeed. 

32.   R(K2)-Q2  Q-K5ch 

33'   K-Ri  P-QKt4 

threatening  P  —  Kt  5 ;  which  would  open  the  line 
of  action  of  the  Bishop  and  also  secure  a  passed  Pawn. 

34.   Q-Kt2  Q-R5 

indirectly  defending  the  Q  P,  which  White  cannot 
take  on  account  of  Q  X  R  ch. 


CENTRE    GAME  207 

35.   K-Kt  I  P-Kt5 

The  attack  increases  in  force  as  it  is  gradually  brought 
home  directly  against  the  King.  The  position  now 
is  most  interesting  and  extremely  difficult.  It  is 
doubtful  if  there  is  any  valid  defence  against  Black's 
best  play.    The  variations  are  numerous  and  difficult. 


36.   PXP 


QxP 


Black  has  now  a  passed  Pawn,  and  his  Bishop  exerts 
great  pressure.  White  cannot  very  well  play  now 
37  RxP  because  of  RxR;  38  R  x  R,  B  x  P ; 
and  WTiite  could  not  take  the  Bishop  because  Q  — 
K  5  ch  would  win  the  Rook,  leaving  Black  a  clear 
passed  Pawn  ahead. 

P-QR3  Q-R5! 

RxP  R-QKti 

R(Ql)_Q2  P-B5 

Q  — Kt3  R— Kt6 

Q-Q6 


37. 
38. 

39. 
40. 

41. 


208 


GAME  8 


^    s 


■mm     i 


i 


^ 


^jp       ^™ 


VA 


63   ,     ,'     ;'     A     ^^^  ^^^  ^^^ 

f  ^^        ^^i         ^^P         ^M 


^;.-^ 


41. 


P  — B6 


B  X  P  would  also  win,   which   shows   that  White's 
game  is  altogether  gone.     In  these  cases,  however, 
it  is  not  the  prettiest  move  that  should  be  played, 
but  the  most  effective  one,  the  move  that  will  make 
your  opponent  resign  soonest. 


42.   R— QB  2 

43-   R-Q3 
44.  R-Qi 

Resigns. 


PxP 

Q-K5I 
R  — QB6 


Of  course  White  must  play  Q— Q  2,  and  Black  then 
plays  R  X  P. 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED  209 

GAME  9.    QUEEN'S    GAMBIT    DECLINED 
(Berlin,  1913) 

White:  J.  R.  Capablanca.         Black:  R.  Teichmann. 


I. 

P-Q4 

P-Q4 

2. 

Kt     -^K  B  3 

Kt— KB  3 

3- 

P-B4 

P-K3 

4- 

B-Kt5 

B  — K2 

5- 

Kt-B3 

QKt  — Q2 

6. 

P-K3 

0-0 

7. 

R  — B  I 

P-QKt3 

8. 

PxP 

PxP 

9- 

B-Kt5 

An  invention  of  my  own,  I  believe.  I  played  it 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment  simply  to  change  the  normal 
course  of  the  game.  Generally  the  Bishop  goes  to  Q  3, 
or  to  R  6,  after  Q  —  R  4.  The  text  move  is  in  the 
nature  of  an  ordinary  developing  move,  and  as  it 
violates  no  principle  it  cannot  be  bad. 


9- 

10. 

B  — Kt  2 

0-0 

P-QR3 

II. 

B-R4 

R-B  I 

12. 

Q-K  2 

P-B4 

13- 

PxP 

KtxP 

If  P  X  P ;   K  R—  Q  I,  and  WTiite  would  play  to  win 
one  of  Black's  centre  Pawns.    The  drawback  to  the 


210  GAME  9 

text  move  is  that  it  leaves  Black's  Q  P  isolated,  and 
consequently  weak  and  subject  to  attack. 

14.  KR— Q  I        Ktx  B 

The  alternative  would  have  been  14...P  —  Kt4; 
15  B  — B  2,  P  — Kt  5;    16  Kt  — Q  R  4,  Kt  (B  4)  — 

15.  Kt  X  Kt  P  — Kt  4 

16.  R  X  R  Q  X  R 

17.  Kt-B3  Q-B5 

Black  aims  at  the  exchange  of  Queens  in  order  to 
remain  with  two  Bishops  for  the  ending,  but  in  this 
position  such  a  course  is  a  mistake,  because  the  Bishop 
at  Kt  2  is  inactive  and  cannot  come  into  the  game 
by  any  means,  unless  Black  gives  up  the  isolated 
Queen's  Pawn  which  the  Bishop  must  defend. 

18.  Kt  — Q4 

Not,  of  course,  R —  Q  4,  because  of  Q  X  Q;  Kt  X  Q, 
R  —  B  I ;  and  there  would  be  no  good  way  to  prevent 
R-B  7. 

18 QxQ 

19.  Kt(B3)xQ! 

Notice  the  co-ordination  of  the  Knights'  moves. 
They  are  manoeuvred  chain-like,  so  to  speak,  in  order 
to  maintain  one  of  them,  either  at  Q  4  or  ready  to  go 
there.  Now  White  threatens  to  take  the  open  file, 
and  therefore  forces  Black's  next  move. 

19 .    R  — B  I 


QUEEN'S  GAMBIT  DECLINED  211 


The  student  should  examine  this  position  carefully. 
There  seems  to  be  no  particular  danger,  yet,  as  Wliite 
will  demonstrate.  Black  may  be  said  to  be  lost.  If 
the  game  is  not  altogether  lost,  the  defence  is  at  least 
of  the  most  difficult  kind;  indeed,  I  must  confess 
that  I  can  see  no  adequate  defence  against  White's 
next  move. 

20.  Kt— B  5!         K  — B  I 

If2o...B  — Qi;  21  Kt— Q6,R  — B  2;  22  Kt  X  B, 
R  X  Kt;  23  Bx  Kt,  B  X  B;  24  R  X  P,  R— B  2; 
25  R —  Q  2,  and  White  is  a  Pawn  ahead.  If  20. .  .B 
moves  anywhere  else,  then  B  X  Kt,  doubling  the 
K  B  P  and  isolating  all  of  Black's  King's  side  Pawns. 

21.  Kt  X  B  K  X  Kt 

22.  Kt  — Q4  P— Kt  3 

This  is  practically  forced,  as  WTiite  threatened  Kt  — 
B  5  ch.  Notice  that  the  Black  Knight  is  pinned  in 
such  a  way  that  no  relief  can  be  afforded  except  by 
giving  up   the  K  R  P  or   abandoning   the  open  file 


212  GAME  9 

with  the  Rook,  which  would  be  disastrous,  as  White 
would  immediately  sieze  it. 

23.  P-B3I 


23- 


R3 


Black  could  do  nothing  else  except  mark  time  with 
his  Rook  along  the  open  file,  since  as  soon  as  he  moved 
away  White  would  take  it.  White,  on  the  other 
hand,  threatens  to  march  up  with  his  King  to  K  5 
via  KB2,KKt3,  KB4,  after  having,  of  course, 
prepared  the  way.  Hence,  Black's  best  chance  was 
to  give  up  a  Pawn,  as  in  the  text,  in  order  to  free  his 
Knight. 

24.  B  X  P  Kt  —  Q  2 

25.  P  — K  R4        Kt— B  4 

26.  B  — B  4  Kt— K3 


Black  exchanges  Knights  to  remain  with  Bishops  of 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED  273 

opposite  colours,  which  gives  him  the  best  chance  to 
draw. 

27.  Kt  X  Kt  K  X  Kt 

27.  .  P  X  Kt  would  be  worse,  as  WTiite  would  then 
be  able  to  post  his  Bishop  at  K  5. 

28.  R  — Q2  R— KRi 


Black  wants  to  force  B  —  Kt3.  P— KKt3  would 
be  bad,  on  account  of  P  —  Q  5 ;  which  would 
get  the  Black  Bishop  into  the  game,  even  though 
White  could  answer  P  —  K  4.  The  text  move  is, 
however,  weak,  as  will  soon  be  seen.  His  best  chance 
was  to  play  P  —  Kt  5  ;  and  follow  it  up  with  P  —  R  4 
and  B  —  R  3.  White  meanwhile  could  play  P  —  Kt  4 
and  R  5,  obtaining  a  passed  Pawn,  which,  with  proper 
play,  should  win. 

29.  R— QB  2!       R— QB  I 

30.  R  X  R  B  X  R 

There  are  now  Bishops  of  opposite  colour,  but  never- 
theless White  has  an  easily -won  game. 


2l4 


GAME  9 
31.   K— B  2 


^  ^  «__«__• 


i 


m\.^, 


4 


31 P-Qs 

Practically  forced.  Otherwise  the  White  King  would 
march  up  to  Q  4  and  then  to  B  5  and  win  Black's 
Queen's  side  Pawns.  If  Black  attempted  to  stop 
this  by  putting  his  King  at  Q  B  3  then  the  White  King 
would  enter  through  K  5  into  Black's  King's  side 
and  win  just  as  easily. 


32. 

PxP 

K-Q4 

33- 

K-K3 

B-K3 

34. 

K-Q3 

K-B3 

35- 

P-QR3 

B  —  B  5  ch 

36. 

K-K3 

B-K3 

37. 

B-R6 

It  is  better  not  to  hurry  P  —  K  Kt  4  because  of  P  —  B  4 ; 
for  although  White  could  win  in  any  case,  it  would 
take  longer.  Now  the  White  King  threatens  to  help 
by  going  in  through  K  B  4  after  posting  the  Bishop 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED  215 

at  Kt  7,  where  it  not  only  protects  the  Q  P,  but  indi- 
rectly also  the  Q  Kt  P. 

37 K-Q4 

38.   B  —  Kt  7  Resigns. 

The  student  ought  to  have  reaHsed  by  this  time 
the  enormous  importance  of  playing  well  every  kind 
of  ending.  In  this  game  again,  practically  from  the 
opening,  White  aimed  at  nothing  but  the  isolation 
of  Black's  Q  P.  Once  he  obtained  that,  he  tried  for 
and  obtained,  fortunately,  another  advantage  of  posi- 
tion elsewhere  which  translated  itself  into  the  ma- 
terial advantage  of  a  Pawn.  Then  by  accurate  playing 
in  the  ending  he  gradually  forced  home  his  advantage. 
This  ending  has  the  merit  of  having  been  played  against 
one  of  the  finest  players  in  the  world. 

GAME   10.    PETROFF  DEFENCE 
(St.  Petersburg,  1914) 

White:    J.  R.  Capablanca.      Black:    F.  J.  Marshall. 

1.  P— K4  P— K4 

2.  Kt— KB  3  Kt  — KB  3 

3.  KtxP  P-Q3 

4.  Kt  —  K  B  3  Kt  X  P 

5.  Q— K  2  Q— K  2 

6.  P  — Q3  Kt  — KB  3 

7.  B-Kts 


2l6 


GAME   lo 


Played  by  Morphy,  and  a  very  fine  move.  The  point 
is  that  should  Black  exchange  Queens  he  will  be  a 
move  behind  in  development  and  consequently  will 
get  a  cramped  game  if  White  plays  accurately. 

7 B-K3 


Marshall  thought  at  the  time  that  this  was  the  best 
move  and  consequently  played  it  in  preference  to 
Q  X  Q  ch. 

8.  Kt  — B  3  P  — KR3 

9.  BxKt  QxB 

10.  P— Q4  B  — K2 

11.  Q— Kt  5  ch      Kt— Q2 

12.  B-Q3! 


It  is  now  time  to  examine  the  result  of  the  opening. 
On  White's  side  we  find  the  minor  pieces  well  posted 
and  the  Queen  out  in  a  somewhat  odd  place,  it  is  true, 
but  safe  from  attack  and  actually  attacking  a  Pawn. 


PETROFF  DEFENCE  217 

White  is  also  ready  to  Castle.  White's  position  is 
evidently  free  from  danger  and  his  pieces  can  easily 
manoeuvre. 

On  Black's  side  the  first  thing  we  notice  is  that 
he  has  retained  both  his  Bishops,  unquestionably  an 
advantage ;  but  on  the  other  hand  we  find  his  pieces 
bunched  together  too  much,  and  the  Queen  in  danger 
of  being  lattacked  without  having  any  good  square  to 
go  to.  The  Bishop  at  K  2  has  no  freedom  and  it 
blocks  the  Queen,  which,  in  its  turn,  blocks  the  Bishop. 
Besides,  Black  cannot  Castle  on  the  King's  side  be- 
cause QxP,  R—  Kti;  Q— K4  threatening  mate, 
wins  a  Pawn.  Nor  can  he  Castle  on  the  Queen's  side 
because  Q— R  5  would  put  Black's  game  in  unminent 
danger,  since  he  cannot  play  P  —  R  3  because  of  B  x  P  ; 
nor  can  he  play  K— Kt  i  because  of  Kt  — Kt  5. 
Consequently  we  must  conclude  that  the  opening  is 
all  in  White's  favour. 

12 P  — Kt  4 

To  make  room  for  his  Queen,  threatening  also  P  — 
Kt  5. 

13.   P-KR3        0-0 

giving  up  a  Pawn  in  an  attempt  to  free  his  game 
and  take  the  initiative.  It  was  difficult  for  him  to 
find  a  move,  as  White  threatened  Kt  —  K  4,  and  should 
Black  go  with  the  Queen  to  Kt  2,  then  P  —  Q  5,  B  — 
B  4;    Kt  X  P  ch,  followed  by  B  X  B. 


2l8 


GAME   lo 


14.  QxP 

15.  Q-K4 

16.  P  -  Q  Kt  3 


QR-Kt  I 
Q— Kt  2 
P-QB4 


In  order  to  break  up  White's  centre  and  bring  his 
Knight  to  B  4  and  thus  lay  the  foundation  for  a  violent 
attack  against  WTiite's  King.  The  plan,  however, 
fails,  as  it  always  must  in  such  cases,  because  Black's 
development  is  backward,  and  consequently  his  pieces 
are  not  properly  placed. 

17.  0—0  PxP 

18.  Kt  — Q5! 

A  simple  move,  which  destroys  Black's  plan  utterly. 
Black  will  now  have  no  concerted  action  of  his  pieces, 
and,  as  his  Pawns  are  all  weak,  he  will  sooner  or  later 
lose  them. 


Si 


^gi( 


m     hW| 


i 


i^ 


MAB    ■ 


m  ^Wi  ^  ^A\^  ft 


1 


mm.  &  m 


m WA 


w/M        W/. 


J^B 


18 

B  — Qi 

19.   B  — B  4 

Kt-B4 

20.   QxP 

QxQ 

PETROFF  DEFENCE  219 

The  fact  that  he  has  to  exchange  Queens  when  he  is 
a  Pawn  behind  shows  that  Black's  game  is  lost. 


21.   Kt  X  Q 

B  X  Kt 

22.   B  X  B 

B-B3 

23.   QR-Qi 

Bx  Kt 

The  Knight  was  too  threatening.  But  now  the 
ending  brought  about  is  one  in  which  the  Bishop 
is  stronger  than  the  Knight;  which  makes  Black's 
plight  a  desperate  one.  The  game  has  no  further 
interest,  and  it  is  only  because  of  its  value  as  a  study 
of  this  variation  of  the  Petroff  that  I  have  given  it. 
Black  was  able  to  fight  it  out  until  the  sixtieth  move 
on  account  of  some  poor  play  on  WTiite's  part.  The 
rest  of  the  moves  are  given  merely  as  a  matter  of  form. 


24. 

RxB 

K-Kt2 

25- 

B-B4 

R-Kt3 

26. 

R— Ki 

K-B3 

27. 

P  — B4 

Kt-K3 

28. 

PX  Pch 

PxP 

29. 

R-B  I  ch 

K— K2 

30- 

R— Kt4 

R— KKt  I 

31- 

R-B5 

R-B3 

32. 

P-KR4 

KR-QB I 

33- 

PxP 

R  — B4 

34. 

Bx  Kt 

PxB 

35- 

RxR 

RxR 

36. 

P-Kt6 

K-B  I 

37- 

R-QB4 

R-QR4 

41. 

42. 

43- 


220  GAME   lo 

38.  P  — R4  K— Kt  2 

39.  R— B  6  R— Q4 

40.  R— B  7  ch  KxP 
RXP  R— Q8ch 
K-R2  P-Q4 
P_R5  R-QB8 

44.  R-B  7  R-QR8 

45.  P-QKt4  R-R5 

46.  P-B3  P-Q5 

47.  R— B  6  PxP 

48.  R  X  P  R  X  Kt  P 

49.  R  — QR3  R— Kt  2 

50.  P  — R6  R— QR  2 

51.  R-R5  K-B3 

52.  P— Kt4  K— K2 

53.  K-Kt3  K-Q3 

54.  K— B  4  K  — B  2 

55.  K-K5  K-Q2 

56.  P— Kt  5  K— K  2 

57.  P— Kt6  K  — B  I 

58.  KxP  K— Ki 

59.  P— Kt  7  RxP 

60.  P  — R  7  R— Kt3  ch 

61.  K  —  B  5  Resigns. 


RUY  LOPEZ  221 

GAME  11.    RUY    LOPEZ 
(St.  Petersburg,  191 4) 


White: 

J.  R.  Capablanca. 

Black:    D.  Janowski, 

I.   P— K4 

P-K4 

2.   Kt-KB3 

Kt-QB3 

3-   B-Kt5 

P-QR3 

4.   B  X  Kt 

QPXB 

5-   Kt-B3 

I  played  this  move  after  having  discussed  it  with 
Alechin  on  several  occasions.  Alechin  considered  it, 
at  the  time,  superior  to  P  —  Q  4,  which  is  generally- 
played.  He  played  it  himself  later  on  in  the  Tourna- 
ment, in  one  of  his  games  against  Dr.  E.  Lasker, 
and  obtained  the  superior  game,  which  he  only  lost 
through  a  blunder. 

5 B-QB4 

P  — B  3  is  probably  the  best  move  in  this  position. 
I  do  not  like  the  text  move. 

6.  P  — Q3  B  — KKt5 

7.  B  — K3  BxB 

This  opens  the  K  B  file  for  White,  and  also  reinforces 
his  centre,  but  Black  naturally  did  not  want  to  make 
a  second  move  with  this  Bishop. 

8.  PxB  Q— K2 

9.  0-0  0-0-0 

Bold  play,  typical  of  Janowski. 


222 


GAME   II 
10.  Q— Ki  Kt  — R3 


M;??<:^  fflSa  ^g 


The  problem  for  White  now  is  to  advance  his  Q  Kt  P 
to  Kt  5  as  fast  as  he  can.  If  he  plays  P  —  Q  Kt  4 
at  once,  Black  simply  takes  it.  If  he  plays  first  P  — 
Q  R  3  and  then  P  —  Q  Kt  4,  he  will  still  have  to  protect 
his  Q  Kt  P  before  he  can  go  on  and  play  P  —  Q  R  4 
and  P— Kt  5.  As  a  matter  of  fact  White  played  a 
rather  unusual  move,  but  one  which,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, was  the  best,  since  after  it  he  could  at 
once  play  P  —  Q  Kt  4  and  then  P  —  Q  R  4  and  P  — 

Kt  5. 

11.  R— Kt  i!  P  — B3 

12.  P  — Kt  4  Kt  — B  2 

13.  P  — QR4  B  X  Kt 

He  simpUfies,  hoping  to  lighten  White's  attack,  which 
will  have  to  be  conducted  practically  with  only  the 
heavy  pieces  on  the  board.  He  may  have  also  done 
it  in  order  to  play  Kt  —  Kt  4  and  K  3. 


RUY  LOPEZ 
14.   R  X  B 


223 


Taking  with  the  Pawn  would  have  opened  a  possi- 
bihty  for  a  counter  attack. 


14. 


P-QKt3 


He  is  forced  to  this  in  order  to  avoid  the  breaking  up 
of  his  Queen's  side  Pawns.  The  only  alternative 
would  have  been  P  —  Q  Kt  4 ;  which  on  the  face  of 
it  looks  bad. 


15- 

P-Kt5 

BPxP 

16. 

PxP 

P-QR4 

17- 

Kt-Q5 

Q-B4 

18. 

P-B4 

t. ^  ......  ^  ^     m 


The  White  Elnight  is  now  a  tower  of  strength.  Be- 
hind it  WTiite  will  be  able  to  prepare  an  attack, 
which  will  begin  with  P  —  Q  4,  to  drive  away  the 
Black  Queen  and  thus  leave  himself  free  to  play  P  — 
B  5.     There  is  only  one  thing  to  take  care  of  and  that 


2  24  GAME   II 

is  to  prevent  Black  from  sacrificing  the  Rook  for  the 

Knight  and  a  Pawn. 


i8.    . . . 

Kt— Kt4 

19.   R- 

-B  2 

Kt-K3 

20.   Q- 

-B3 

R— Q2 

Had  White  on  his  19th  move  played  K  R  —  B  i  in- 
stead of  R  —  B  2,  Black  could  have  played  now 
instead  of  the  text  move,  R  X  Kt ;  K  P  X  R,  Q  X  P  ch ; 
followed  by  Kt  —  B  4  with  a  winning  game. 

21.  R— Q  I  K— Kt  2 

It  would  have  been  better  for  Black  to  play  K — Q  i. 
The  text  move  loses  very  rapidly. 


22. 

P-Q4 

Q-Q3 

23- 

R-B  2 

PxP 

24. 

PxP 

Kt-B5 

25- 

P-B  5 

Kt  X  Kt 

26. 

PxKt 

QxQP 

27. 

P-B6ch 

K— Kt  I 

28. 

PxR 

Q  X  P  (Q  2) 

29. 

P-Q5 

R— K  I 

30- 

P  — Q6 

PxP 

31- 

Q-B  6 

Resigns. 

FRENCH  DEFENCE 


225 


GAME  12.    FRENCH  DEFENCE 
(New  York,  191 8) 

White:    J.  R.  Capablanca.         Black:    O.  Chajes. 


1.  P— K4 

2.  P-Q4 

3.  Kt-QB3 

4.  B-Q3 


P— K3 
P-Q4 
Kt— KB  3 


Not  the  most  favoured  move,  but  a  perfectly  natural 
developing  one,  and  consequently  it  cannot  be  bad. 

4 P  X  P 


P  —  Q  B  4  is  generally  played  in  this  case  instead  of 
the  text  move. 


5.  KtxP 

6.  Kt  X  Kt  ch 

7.  Kt-B3 


QKt— Q2 
Ktx  Kt 
B  — K2 


I'm  I 


1  i  A     :!,  i  i  i 


'M...Jm. 


y^.       g<^ 


^^^^'wm^'mm^- 


226 


GAME   12 


8.  Q— K  2 

This  is  played  to  prevent  P  — Q  Kt  3,  followed  by 
B  —  Kt  2,  which  is  the  general  form  of  development 
for  Black  in  this  variation.  If  Black  now  plays  8 . . .  P  — 
Q  Kt  3  ;  9  B  —  Kt  5  ch,  B  —  Q  2  ;  10  Kt—  K  5  and 
WTiite  obtains  a  considerable  advantage  in  position. 

8 0-0 

9.  B-KKt  5        P  — KR3 

Of  course  Black  could  not  play  P  —  Q  Kt  3  because 
of  B  X  Kt,  followed  by  Q—  K  4. 

10.  B  X  Kt  B  X  B 

11.  Q— K4  P  — KKt3 

This  weakens  Black's  King's  side.  R — K  i  was 
the  right  move. 

12.  P  — KR4 


%///M. 


m 


12 p— K4 

This  is  merely  giving  up  a  Pawn  in  order  to  come 
out  quickly  with  his  Q  B.    But  as  he  does  not  obtain 


FRENCH  DEFE^XE  227 

any  compensation  for  his  Pawn,  the  move  is  bad. 
He  should  have  played  Q  —  Q  4  and  tried  to  fight 
the  game  out  that  way.  It  might  have  continued 
thus:  13  Q  — B  4,  B  — Kt  2;  14QXBP,  BxP; 
15  Kt  X  B,  Q  X  Kt ;  16  O—  O—  O  with  considerable 
advantage  of  position  for  White.  The  text  move 
might  be  considered  a  mild  form  of  suicide. 

13.  Px  P  B  — B  4 

14.  Q— KB  4  B  x  B 

15.  0—0—0  B  — Kt  2 

16.  Rx  B  Q  — K  2 

17.  Q-B4 

In  order  to  keep  the  Black  Queen  from  coming  into 
the  game. 

17 QR-Qi 

18.  KR— Q  I 

A  better  plan  would  have  been  to  play  R  —  K  i, 
threatening  P  —  K  6. 

18 Rx  R 

19.  Rx  R  R— K  I 

20.  P— B  3  P— QB  3 

Of  course  if  BxP;  Kt  x  B,  Q  X  Kt ;  R— K  3. 
Black  with  a  Pawm  minus  fights  very  hard. 

21.  R— K3 

The  PawTi  had  now  to  be  defended  after  Black's 
last  move,  because  after  BxP;    KtxB,  QxKt; 


228 


GAME   12 


R— K  3,  Black  could  now  play  Q— Kt  i  defending 

the  Rook. 

21 P-QB4 

22.  K— B  2  P  — Kt3 

23.  P-R4 

White's  plan  now  is  to  fix  the  Queen's  side  in  order 
to  be  able  to  manoeuvre  freely  on  the  other  side,  where 
he  has  the  advantage  of  material. 

Q-Q2 
Q  — B  I 

Q-K3 
K— B  I 
K-Kti 


Black  sees  that  he  now  stands  in  his  best  defensive 
position,  and  therefore  waits  for  White  to  show  how 
he  intends  to  break  through.  He  notices,  of  course, 
that  the  White  Knight  is  in  the  way  of  the  K  B  P, 
which  cannot  advance  to  K  B  4  to  defend,  or  support 
rather,  the  Pawn  at  K  5. 


FRENCH  DEFENCE 


229 


28. 

P-QKt3 

K- 

-B  I 

29. 

K-Q3 

K- 

-Kti 

30- 

R— Q6 

Q- 

-B  I 

31- 

R-Q5 

Q- 

-K3 

32. 

P  — KKt4 

K- 

-B  I 

33- 

Q-B4 

K- 

-Kt  I 

34. 

Q-K4 

K- 

-B  I 

w 


li. 


8  ^^^^^ 


ta^^^^ 


^    ^    '^ 


Black  persists  in  waiting  for  developments.  He  sees 
that  if  P  — K  R  5,  P  X  P;  P  X  P,  the  Queen  goes 
to  R  6,  and  White  will  have  to  face  serious  difficulties. 
In  this  situation  White  decides  that  the  only  course 
is  to  bring  his  King  to  K  Kt  3,  so  as  to  defend  the 
squares  K  R  3  and  K  Kt  4,  where  the  Black  Queen 
might  otherwise  become  a  source  of  annoyance. 


35.  K— K  2 

36.  K  — B  I 

37.  K-Kt2 

38.  K-Kt3 


K— Kt  I 
K— B  I 
K— Kt  I 
K— B  I 


>30 


GAME   12 


Now  that  he  has  completed  his  march  with  the  King, 
White  is  ready  to  advance. 


J  i 


39.  P  — KR  5      'Px  P 

39...P  —  K  Kt  4  would  be  answered  by  Q— B  5, 
with  a  winning  game. 

40.  PxP  Q— K2 

Against  K  —  Kt  i ;  White  would  play  Q  —  Kt  4, 
practically  forcing  the  exchange  of  Queens,  after 
which  White  would  have  Httle  trouble  in  winning  the 
ending,  since  Black's  Bishop  could  not  do  much  damage 
in  the  resulting  position. 

41.  Q— B  5  K— Kt  I 

Black  overlooks  the  force  of  42  R  — Q  7.  His  best 
defence  was  R  —  Q  i ;  against  which  White  could 
either  advance  the  King  or  play  Kt  —  R  4,  threaten- 
ing Kt  —  Kt  6  ch. 

42.  R  — Q7  BxPch 


FRENCH   DEFENCE  231 

This  loses  a  piece,  but  Black's  position  was  altogether 
hopeless. 

43.  K-Kt4  Q-B3 

44.  Ktx  B  Q— Kt  2ch 
45-   K  —  B4            Resigns. 

The  interest  of  this  game  centres  mainly  on  the 
opening  and  on  the  march  of  the  White  King  during 
the  final  stage  of  the  game.  It  is  an  instance  of  the 
King  becoming  a  fighting  piece,  even  while  the  Queens 
are  still  on  the  board. 

GAME  13.    RUY   LOPEZ 

(New  York,  191 8) 

White:  J.  S.  Morrison.  Black:  J.  R.  Capablanca. 

1.  P— K4  P— K4 

2.  Kt— KB3  Kt  — QB3 

3.  B-Kt5  P-Q3 

4.  Kt  — B  3  B  — Q2 

5.  P-Q4  PxP 

6.  KtxP  P— KKt3 

In  this  form  of  defence  of  the  Ruy  Lopez  the  devel- 
opment of  the  K  B  via  Kt  2  is,  I  think,  of  great  im- 
portance. The  Bishop  at  Kt  2  exerts  great  pressure 
along  the  long  diagonal.  At  the  same  time  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Bishop  and  Pawns  in  front  of  the  King, 
once  it  is  Castled,  is  one  of  great  defensive  strength. 
Therefore,  in  this  form  of  development,  the  Bishop, 


232  GAME   13 

we  might  say,  exerts  its  maximum  strength  (Compare 
this  note  ^\dth  the  one  in  the  Capablanca-Burn  game 
at  San  Sebastian,  page  197.) 

7.  Kt  — B3  B  — Kt2 

8.  B  — Kt  5  Kt— B  3 

Of  course  not  K  Kt— K  2;  because  of  Kt  — Q  5. 
The  alternative  would  have  been  P  — B  3;  to  be 
followed  by  K  Kt  —  K  2 ;  but  m  this  position  it  is 
preferable  to  have  the  Kt  at  K  B  3. 

9.  Q-Q2  P-KR3 

10.  B  — KR4 

An  error  of  judgment.  White  wants  to  keep  the 
Knight  pinned,  but  it  was  more  important  to  prevent 
Black  from  Castling  unmediately.  B  —  K  B  4  would 
have  done  this. 

10 0—0 

11.  0-0-0 

Bold  play,  but  again  faulty  judgment,  unless  he  in- 
tended to  play  to  win  or  lose,  throwing  safety  to 
the  winds.  The  Black  Bishop  at  Kt  2  becomes  a 
very  powerful  attacking  piece.  The  strategical  dis- 
position of  the  Black  pieces  is  now  far  superior  to 
White's,  therefore  it  will  be  Black  who  mil  take  the 
offensive. 

II R— Ki 

12.  KR— Ki 


RUY  LOPEZ 


233 


i^< «M 


m 


'J£^'.  cr-3  fB 


WTiite  wanted  to  keep  his  Q  R  on  the  open  file,  and 
consequently  brings  over  his  other  Rook  to  the  centre 
to  defend  his  K  P,  which  Black  threatened  to  win  by 
P— K  Kt  4,  followed  by  Kt  X  P. 

12 P— Kt  4! 

Now  that  the  K  R  is  in  the  centre,  Black  can  safely 
advance,  since,  in  order  to  attack  on  the  King's  side, 
White  would  have  to  shift  his  Rooks,  which  he  cannot 
do  so  long  as  Black  keeps  up  the  pressure  in  the  centre. 

13.  B  — Kt  3  Kt  — K  R  4 

Uncovering  the  Bishop,  which  now  acts  along  the 
long  diagonal,  and  at  the  same  time  preventing  P  — 
K  5,  which  would  be  answered  by  Kt  X  B ;  P  X  Kt, 
Kt  X  P  ;   etc.,  winning  a  Pawn. 

14.  Kt-Q5  P-R3 

Black  drives  the  Bishop  away  so  as  to  unpin  his 
pieces  and  be  able  to  manoeuvre  freely. 


234  GAME   13 

15.  B-Q3  B-K3 

Preparing  the  onslaught.  Black's  pieces  begin  to  bear 
against  the  King's  position. 

16.  P  — B  3 


iJiii    M    , 


i  H 


With  the  last  move  White  not  only  blocks  the  action 
of  Black's  K  B,  but  he  also  aims  at  placing  his  Bishop 
at  Q  Kt  I  and  his  Queen  at  Q  B  2,  and  then  advancing 
his  K  P,  to  check  at  K  R  7. 

16 P  — B4! 

Initiating  an  attack  to  which  there  is  no  reply,  and 
which  has  for  its  ultimate  object  either  the  winnmg 
of  the  White  Q  B  or  cutting  it  off  from  the  game. 
(Compare  this  game  with  the  Winter-Capablanca 
game  at  Hastings.) 

17.   P— KR4        P  — B  5 

The  Bishop  is  now  out  of  action.  White  naturally 
counter  attacks  violently  against   the  seemingly  ex- 


RUY  LOPEZ 


235 


posed  position  of  the  Black  King,  and,  with  very  good 
judgment,  even  offers  tiie  Bishop. 


s 


«*?i 


k  I 


m 


mi 


yy/Ziioi 


'PP  i^^  '£?  ^^^ 


<M 


i8.  Px  P! 


PXP! 


Taking  the  Bishop  would  be  dangerous,  if  not  actually 
bad,  while  the  text  move  accompHshes  Black's  object, 
which  is  to  put  the  Bishop  out  of  action. 


19.  R— R  I 

20.  K —  Kt  I 


B  — B  2 


This  move  unquestionably  loses  time.  Since  he  would 
have  to  retire  his  Bishop  to  R  2  sooner  or  later,  he 
might  have  done  it  immediately.  It  is  doubtful,  how- 
ever, if  at  this  stage  of  the  game  it  would  be  possible 
for  White  to  save  the  game. 


20 

21.    Kt  X  Kt 


Kt— K  4 
R  X  Kt 


It  was  difficult  to  decide  which  way  to  retake.     1 


236  GAME   13 

took  with  the  Rook  in  order  to  have  it  prepared  for 
a  possible  attack  against  the  King. 


22.  B  — R  2 


Kt-B3 


Now  that  the  White  Bishop  has  been  driven  back, 
Black  wants  to  get  rid  of  White's  strongly  posted 
Knight  at  Q  5,  which  blocks  the  attack  of  the  Bishop 
at  B  2.  It  may  be  said  that  the  Knight  at  Q  5  is 
the  key  to  White's  defence. 


23.   P— KKt  3 

White  strives  not  only  to  have  play  for  his  Bishop, 
but  also  he  wants  to  break  up  Black's  Pawns  in  order 
to  counter-attack.  The  alternative  would  have  been 
23  Kt  X  Kt  ch,  Q  X  Kt;  and  Black  would  be  threat- 
ening R  —  R  4,  and  also  Q  —  K  3.  The  student  should 
notice  that  Black's  drawback  in  all  this  is  the  fact 
that  he  is  playing  minus  the  services  of  his  Q  R.  It 
is  this  fact  that  makes  it  possible  for  White  to  hold 
out  longer. 


RUY  LOPEZ 


237 


23- 
24. 

25- 


Bx  Kt 
PxP 


KtxP 

RxB 

P-B3 


■* 


K 


26.  Kt  — K3 

Kt  —  Kt  4  was  the  alternative,  but  in  any  event 
White  could  not  resist  the  attack.  I  leave  it  to  the 
reader  to  work  this  out  for  himself,  as  the  variations  are 
so  numerous  that  they  would  take  up  too  much  space. 

26 Q  — R4 

27.  P-B4  QxQ 

28.  R  X  Q  PxP 

29.  Kt  —  Kt  4  B  —  Kt  3 

This  forces  the  King  to  the  corner,  where  he  w^ll  be 
in  a  mating  net. 

30.  K  — Ri  QR— Ki 

Now  at  last  the  Q  R  enters  into  the  game  and  soon 
the  battle  is  over. 

31-   P-R3 
If  RxP,  R— K  8  ch;    R— Q  i,  R  (K  i)  — K  7. 


23S                             GAME 

14 

-21 

R— K8ch 

32.  RxR 

RxRch 

33.   K-R2 

B-B  2 

34.   K-Kt3 

P-Q4 

the  quickest  way  to  finish  the  game. 

35.   B  X  P 

PX  Pch 

36.   K— Kt4 

P  — B6 

37.  PxP 

R-K5ch 

38.   P-B4 

RX  P  ch 

39.   K-R5 

RXB 

40.  R— Q8ch 

K— R2 

41.   R-Q  7 

B-K  3 

Resigns. 

A  very  lively  game. 

GAME  14.    QUEEN'S  GAMBIT  DECLINED 
(New  York,  191 8) 
White  :  F.  J.  Marshall.        Black :  J.  R.  Capablanca. 


I. 

P-Q4 

P-Q4 

2. 

Kt— KB  3 

Kt  — KB3 

3- 

P  — B  4 

P-K3 

4. 

Kt-B3 

QKt  — Q2 

5- 

B-Kt5 

B  — K2 

6. 

P-K3 

0-0 

7- 

R  — B  I 

P-B3 

This  is  one  of  the  oldest  systems  of  defence  against 
the  Queen's  Gambit.  I  had  played  it  before  in  this 
Tournament  against  Kostic,  and  no  doubt  Marshall 
expected    it.       At    times    I    change    my    defences, 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED 


239 


or  rather  systems  of  defence ;  on  the  other  hand, 
during  a  Tournament,  if  one  of  them  has  given  me 
good  results,  I  generally  play  it  all  the  time. 


8. 

Q-B  2 

PxP 

9- 

BxP 

Kt-Q4 

10. 

BxB 

QxB 

II. 

0-0 

KtxKt 

12. 

QX  Kt 

P-QKt3 

This  is  the  key  to  this  system  of  defence.  Having 
simplified  the  game  considerably  by  a  series  of  ex- 
changes, Black  will  now  develop  his  Q  B  along  the 
long  diagonal  without  having  created  any  apparent 
weakness.  The  proper  development  of  the  Q  B  is 
Black's  greatest  problem  in  the  Queen's   Gambit. 

13.  P— K4  B  — Kt  2 

14.  KR— K  I         KR— Qi 


wM      isr?       ^;5^  ■*  mm 


i    €m    ^^    ^. 


m  .JA 


The  developing  stage  can  now  be  said  to  be  complete 
on  both  sides.  The  opening  is  over  and  the  middle- 
game  begins.     WTiite,  as  is  generally  the  case,  has 


240  GAME   14 

obtained  the  centre.  Black,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
entrenched  in  his  first  three  ranks,  and  if  given  time 
will  post  his  Q  R  at  Q  B  I  and  his  Knight  at  K  B  3, 
and  finally  play  P  — Q  B  4,  in  order  to  break  up 
White's  centre  and  give  full  action  to  the  Black  Bishop 
posted  at  Q  Kt  2.  In  this  game  White  attempts  to 
anticipate  that  plan  by  initiating  an  advance  on  the 
centre,  which,  when  carefully  analysed,  is  truly  an 
attack  against  Black's  K  P. 


15.  P-Qs 


Kt-B4! 


Against  Kostic  in  a  previous  game  I  had  played 
Kt  — B  I.  It  was  carelessness  on  my  part,  but  Mar- 
shall believed  differently,  otherwise  he  would  not  have 
played  this  variation,  since,  had  he  analysed  this  move, 
he  would,  I  think,  have  realised  that  Black  would 
obtain  an  excellent  game.  Black  now  threatens  not 
only  B  P  X  P  ;  but  also  Kt  X  P  ;  followed  by  B  P  X  P. 
The  position  is  very  interestmg  and  full  of  possibiUties. 


1 


'  X  Sf  ^    ^       |ga^  ill 


m 


QUEEN'S  GAMBIT  DECLINED  241 

16.  P  X  K  P  Kt  X  P  (K  3) 

17.  B  X  Kt  Q  X  B 

played  under  the  impression  that  White  had  to  lose 
time  in  defending  his  Q  R  P,  when  I  could  play  P  — 
Q  B  4,  obtaining  a  very  superior  game.  But,  as  will 
be  seen,  my  opponent  had  quite  a  httle  surprise  for 
me. 

18.  Kt  — Q4! 


18 Q— K4! 

Of  course,  if  18. .  .Q  x  R  P ;  19  R—  R  i  would  win 
the  Queen.  The  text  move  is  probably  the  only  satis- 
factory move  in  the  position.  The  obvious  move  would 
have  been  Q— Q  2  to  defend  the  Q  B  P,  and  then 
would  have  come  19  Kt  — B  5,  P  — B  3;  20  Q  — 
KKt3  (threatening  QR—Q  i),  K  — R  i;  21  QR  — 
Qi,  Q— KB2;  22P— KR4,  with  a  tremendous 
advantage  in  position.  The  text  move,  on  the  other 
hand,  assures  Black  an  even  game  at  the  very  least, 
as  will  soon  be  seen. 


242  GAME   14 

19.  KtxP  QXQ 

20.  RxQ  R-Q7 

21.  R— Kt  I 

A  very  serious  error  of  judgment.  White  is  under 
the  impression  that  he  has  the  better  game,  because 
he  is  a  Pawn  ahead,  but  that  is  not  so.  The  power- 
ful position  of  the  Black  Rook  at  Q  7  fully  com- 
pensates Black  for  the  Pawn  minus.  Besides,  the 
Bishop  is  better  with  Rooks  than  the  Knight  (see  pages 
48-56,  where  the  relative  values  of  the  Knight  and 
Bishop  are  compared),  and,  as  already  stated,  with 
Pawns  on  both  sides  of  the  board  the  Bishop  is  superior 
because  of  its  long  range.  Incidentally,  this  end- 
ing will  demonstrate  the  great  power  of  the  Bishop. 
White's  best  chance  was  to  take  a  draw  at  once,  thus. 
21  Kt  — K  7  ch  K  — B  i;  22  R  — B  7  R  — K  i 
(not  B  X  P ;  because  P  —  B  3  would  give  White  the 
best  of  it);  23  R  X  B  (best;  not  Kt  —  Kt  6  ch,  be- 
cause of  B  P  X  Kt;  foUowed  by  R  X  K  P),  R  X  Kt; 
24  R  — Kt  8  ch,  R  — K  i;  25  RxR  ch,  K  X  R, 
and  with  proper  play  White  will  draw. 

It  is  curious  that,  although  a  Pawn  ahead,  White 
is  the  one  who  is  always  in  danger.  It  is  only  now, 
after  seeing  this  analysis,  that  the  value  of  Black's 
1 8th  move  Q  — K  4  can  be  fully  appreciated. 


21. 


R-Ki 


With  this  powerful  move  Black  begins,  against  White's 
centre,  an  assault  which  will  soon  be  shifted  against 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED  24^ 

the  Kmg  itself.  White  is  afraid  to  play  22  P  — B  3 
because  of  P  —  B  4. 

22.   P— K5  P— KKt4 

To  prevent  P  —  B  4.  The  White  Knight  is  practically 
pinned,  because  he  does  not  dare  move  on  account 
of  R  X  K  P. 


t.:  S  .,M      M      g 


23.  P— KR4 

This  is  a  sequel  to  the  previous  move.    WTiite  expects 
to  disrupt  Black's  Pawns,  and  thus  make  them  weak. 


23. 


P  XP 


Though  doubled  and  isolated  this  Pawn  exercises 
enormous  pressure.  Black  now  threatens  R — K  3; 
to  be  followed  by  R  —  Kt  3  and  P  —  R  6  and  R  7  at 
the  proper  time. 

24.   R —  K  I 

White    cannot    stand    the    slow   death    any  longer^ 


244  GAME    14 

He  sees  danger  everyw'here,  and  wants  to  avert  it 
by  giving  up  his  Queen's  side  Pawns,  expecting  to 
regain  his  fortunes  later  on  by  taking  the  initiative 
on  the  King's  side. 

24 R-K3! 

Much  better  than  taking  Pawns.  This  forces  White 
to  defend  the  Knight  with  the  Rook  atK  i,  because 
of  the  threat  R— Kt  3. 

25.  R  (Ki)  — QB  I  K  — Kt  2 

Preparatory  to  R— Kt  3.  The  game  is  going  to  be 
decided  on  the  King's  side,  and  it  is  the  isolated  double 
Pawn  that  will  supply  the  finishing  touch. 

26.  P  — QKt4  P  — Kt4 

To  prevent  P  — Kt  5,  defending  the  Knight  and  lib- 
erating the  Rooks. 


27.  P-R3 

28.  K— B  I 


R-Kt3 
R-R7 


^^ 


3iLH '^AWi 


i 


i^l^  ft 

1 


QUEEN'S   GAMBIT  DECLINED  245 

Notice  the  remarkable  position  of  the  pieces.  White 
cannot  move  anything  without  incurring  some  loss. 
His  best  chance  would  have  been  to  play  29  P  —  K  6, 
but  that  would  only  have  prolonged  the  game,  which 
is  lost  in  any  case. 

29.  K— Kt  I  P  — R6 

30.  P-Kt3  P-QR3 

Again  forcing  White  to  move  and  to  lose  something 
thereby,  as  all  his  pieces  are  tied  up. 


31.  P— K6 


RxKP 


Not  even  now  can  WTiite  move  the  Knight  because 
of  P  — R  7  ch;  KxP,  R  — R  3  ch;  K— Kt  i, 
R  —  R  8  mate. 


32. 
33- 


P-Kt4 
P-B3 


R-R3 


If  33  P-Kt  5,  P-R  7  ch;   34K-R1,  RxKt; 
35  R  X  R,  R  X  P,  winning  easily. 


246 


GAME 

14 

33- 
34. 

R-Q3 
R(Q3)-Q7 

Kt-K7 

35. 

Kt-B  5ch 

K-B3 

36. 

Kt  — R4 

K— Kt4 

37- 

Kt-B  5 

R— Kt  7ch 

38. 

K— B  I 

P-R7 

39- 

P-B4ch 

KxBP 

40. 

Resigns. 

An  ending  worth  very  careful  study. 


fiNIS 


university  of  California 
SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  UBRARVFACUTV 

'"'  °,irANG°Ss:crF?.RN>r90095-,38S 


AA    000  753  088    4 


